Heartfelt Desires
by SunnyMagicKingdom
Summary: "It's nothing more than a one-sided love." At the age of six, Sakura Haruno lost her parents in a car accident and was taken in by the head of the Uchiha Corporation. While living her new life, she became both Sasuke Uchiha's personal maid and his closest friend. But with the huge difference between their backgrounds, she just couldn't imgine being more than that. (AU)
1. Hidden Feelings

Author's Note: So here it is, my fourth fanfic on the Sasuke/Sakura pairing. When I first thought of this plot, I imagined a rather dramatic story. Hopefully, I can capture that feeling as I progress with this fanfic. Anyway, your support will be highly appreciated and I really hope you'll enjoy reading this!

P.S. This fanfic is based on modern Japan. Sasuke and Sakura are sixteen years old and are first year high school students.

Chapter 1: Hidden Feelings

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

My life was far from perfect and it had never been smooth sailing. But seriously, it was impossible for a person to not meet any setbacks in life. Just that, some people experienced worse than others. And whether you would be happy or not, it depended on how you chose to live your life.

As for me, I chose to stay positive and not dwell on the past. When I was just six years old, I lose both of my parents in a car accident. They were on their way to fetch me from school when they collided with another car. Apparently, the driver was tipsy and ended up taking away the lives of my beloved family.

Even though that was ten years ago, I could still remember it as if it was just yesterday. It was raining heavily that day when I waited for my parents to arrive.

Needless to say, they never did.

My world fell apart in an instant and my heart was in so much pain that I was starting to lose the ability to feel again. I didn't even feel sad when I found out that none of my relatives were willing to take care of me. I never liked them anyway.

Without me noticing it, I was beginning to forget what it was like to be happy.

However, that was until a married couple visited the orphanage I was in and decided to take me in. I could still remember the warm smiles they gave me on that faithful day. The woman took my hands into hers and her gentle voice was comforting.

"Everything's going to be alright."

They took me back to their home, which was more like a mansion in my eyes. Not only was it huge, it was beautiful. But there was something more mesmerizing than my splendid new home.

And that was the couple's youngest son.

When his parents' introduced me to him, he didn't say anything. He didn't even smile. But I just couldn't help but to be captivated by his mysterious dark eyes.

It was just a childish crush.

At least, that was what I thought.

Ten years had passed since then and I found myself falling in love with him for real. The feelings just continued growing stronger when I was assigned to become his personal maid. And the fact that we were together almost all the time wasn't helping me either. But what could I do. Not only was I living with him, we attended the same school.

I was never so sure how, but the two of us became really close friends. He was still as expressionless as ever and it wasn't easy to read his mind. But I was slowly getting to understand how to get along with that person.

But I wasn't so naïve to think that he would one day love me back. I was just a maid and he was the son of one of the most successful man in Japan.

And my life could never end as beautifully as a fairytale. I wasn't even a princess to begin with.

Despite my unrequited love, I was grateful for what I had and felt blessed. And that was why I had decided to work hard as a way to thank Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha for taking me in and gave me the hope I had once lost.

And maybe, one day, I could move on and live a life without him in it.

Maybe, just maybe, I could one day stop loving Sasuke Uchiha.

"Sakura, if you continue daydreaming like an idiot, we'll both be late for school."

I rolled my eyes at the rudeness I had grown so used to, which had effortlessly snapped me out of my thoughts. I often wondered why I was in love with such an emotionless man. It was still way too early for a fight so I followed Sasuke to the car without a word.

It was Friday and I was looking forward to the plans I made with my friends for the weekends. I was glad that Fugaku and Mikoto were rather easy going and I was free to go out as long as I was done with my work.

I glanced over to my side to sneak a peek at Sasuke, who looked as good looking as always in his school uniform. Both the male and female students wore short sleeved white blouse with a sleeveless beige sweater over it and completed with a black tie. The guys wore long black pants while girls wore black short skirt.

I almost yelped when Sasuke caught me staring at him. He raised an eyebrow at me and was giving me an odd look.

"I know I'm good looking, Sakura. But you don't have to stare."

"Your arrogance is disturbing me, Sasuke."

I looked away and closed my eyes, not trusting them to not wander back to Sasuke. Sometimes I wondered if Sasuke had found out about my feelings for him. I had tried my best to hide them, not wanting him to know.

I would continue to suppress these feelings until they would one day disappear for good.

" _Why can't that day just come faster?"_

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

"Why don't you want to help me, Sasuke?!"

"Because I don't want to."

"But why?"

"Go away, Naruto."

"Sasuke-teme!"

Naruto, being as annoying as he always was, had been begging me to help him get together with Sakura. And contrary to what Neji and Shikamaru believed, it wasn't because I was jealous.

It was simply because I didn't think Naruto suits Sakura.

Sakura was independent, intelligent and beautiful while Naruto was just a loud dope. I just couldn't bring myself to imagine those two getting together.

"You're such a heartless bastard."

I ignored Naruto's rambling and continued eating my lunch. As for Neji and Shikamaru's snickers, I pretended I didn't see them.

"Sasuke, I need a favor from you!"

I almost chocked on my food upon hearing an awfully familiar voice I dreaded a lot. I groaned in annoyance before turning my head to meet the equally dreadful owner of the voice calling out to me at a louder volume than necessary.

"What do you want, Lee?" My tone was dangerous and my eyes narrowed into a threatening glare. But Lee wasn't fazed at all and continued being the over enthusiastic man he was.

It was either he didn't care about the fact that he was pissing me off or he was too dumb to notice my anger.

It was most likely the latter.

"I want to ask Sakura out on a date tonight but I'm not sure where I should take her to. And since you're her closest friend, I assume you will know what I should do. Where do you think Sakura will like to go to for a dinner date?"

"Nowhere." I didn't give my answer a second thought. My respond was purely based on instincts alone. Neji and Shikamaru's smirks made me realized that I sounded jealous, which was exactly what they said about me. I quickly gave Lee an explanation I made up to sound more rational. "She is busy tonight."

Lee slumped onto the chair beside Naruto and both of them looked equally rejected. Lee recovered rather fast and was still trying to salvage his plans to take Sakura out.

"Is she free tomorrow?"

"No."

"How about on Sunday?"

"No."

By then, Neji could no longer keep his mouth shut and just had to speak up his mind.

"Come on, Sasuke. You've been keeping Sakura all to yourself for all these years. If you're not interested in dating her, stop trying to keep other guys away from her."

And of course, Shikamaru just had to make things worse.

"Neji is right. It's either that or you should stop being the troublesome coward you are and ask her out."

"I don't like her that way." I hated how those two shrugged off my answer as if it was some sorry excuse. I sent deadly glared over to them, showing that I wanted the conversation to end.

Naruto and Lee seemed like they wanted to confirm whether Neji and Shikamaru were speaking the truth. But one last glare from me made them change their mind about opening those mouths of theirs.

Both Naruto and Lee were just not the right people for Sakura. And as her closest friend, I couldn't allow her to end up with any of those two.

It was as simple as that.

Or maybe it wasn't as simple as that but at that moment; I didn't wish to think further about it.

Matters of the heart weren't exactly my expertise.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

"You know, Sakura, I think Sasuke likes you. It might not be as hopeless as you think!"

"It's not as simple as that, Ino."

"I think you're just over thinking the issue."

"And I think you're taking things too lightly."

Besides Sasuke himself, Ino Yamanaka was my closest friend. I had been friends with her since primary school, when I first enrolled into Konoha Academy together with Sasuke. She might be annoying at times and still needed to control that blabbermouth of hers, but she was a loyal friend whom I could depend on.

And that was why she was the only one who knew about my feelings for Sasuke.

"Why are you so pessimistic about this?" Ino sighed in defeat and shook her head dejectedly.

"It's called being realistic, Ino."

"Fine, if you want to move on from Sasuke that much, go and get yourself a boyfriend."

"It's not that easy to fall for someone else."

"You're driving me crazy, Sakura. What in the world do you want?! Plus, if you never try to get to know another guy, how are you supposed to forget your feelings for Sasuke?"

Ino did make sense. It's not possible for me to love someone else overnight, but if I didn't try to meet new people, I could never forget my feelings for Sasuke.

But in all honestly, I really wasn't interested in doing that.

Ino was about to talk more sense into my messed up mind when three timid looking girls suddenly approached us. They seemed hesitant as they took tiny steps towards our way.

"Do you need something from us?"

The three girls tensed up once I spoke. They almost looked terrified for some unknown reason. Did I look that scary?

After what felt like an eternity, they finally built up enough courage to hand me what seemed to be letters and one of the girls spoke in a trembling voice.

"S-Sakura, can you help us give these letters to Sasuke?"

" _Not them again."_

For as long as I could remember, Sasuke had always attracted a whole bunch of fan girls without him even trying. That stayed the same even when we entered high school.

However, I had concluded that there were two types of fan girls. The three girls who approached me was the first type, the innocent little lambs who would come to me to help them with their letters, gifts and all that. The second type was those who would hate me to the guts because not only were I a close friend of their 'Sasuke-sama', I lived with him.

I took the letters from the girls and they fled without waiting for me to say a word. I nonchalantly gave the letters a look before heading back to the classroom. I lost count of the number of times I helped girls pass their love letters to Sasuke. The content of the letters were always cheesy and they never failed to make me laugh.

And I could never get sick of seeing Sasuke grimacing as he read the letters.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

Later that night after I had dinner, I went back to my room and saw that Sakura was almost done cleaning up my room. She was in her usual black and white maid uniform, which I must admit looked good on her.

I never said that to her though. Based on what I knew about her, she might send a punch flying to my face while calling me a pervert.

A small smile appeared on my face at that very thought. When I first met Sakura, she was a quiet little girl who was deprived of energy. I definitely wasn't the type of person to care about someone else. But back then, when I saw how miserable Sakura was, all I wanted to do was to make her smile.

After all, she was too adorable to wear a frown all the time.

Naturally, I wasn't an expert in making people happy. I barely smiled myself. It wasn't because I was upset or anything, it was just how I was.

So all I managed to do was asking Sakura to play with me or bring her snacks I assumed she would like. Back then, I wasn't so sure if it would work but I did it anyway. And before long, the once despaired Sakura became an energetic girl who was full of smiles.

She also became even more beautiful than the first time I saw her.

When Sakura noticed that I had entered the room, she was suddenly smiling in a rather amused way. It was one of those looks she would give me whenever she was teasing me or making fun of me for some stupid mistake I did.

Right after she was done tidying up my bookshelf, she went to my desk and took three envelopes with me.

It was obvious what those letters were.

"How many times must I tell you before you will start rejecting to help those girls with their disgusting love letters?"

Sakura faked a pained look and gasped at the _horrible_ words I said. I rolled my eyes at her and went to sit on my bed.

Sakura sat beside me and punched me on the arm. She completely ignored the fact that I was wincing in pain and continued her little act.

"That's such an awful thing to say, Sasuke! And I can never bring myself to reject girls who are helplessly in love. Unlike you, I have feelings."

I rolled my eyes once again at how fake Sakura sounded. I knew how much she disliked those fan girls, it was either they hate Sakura to no end or they would bother her to help them with things like gifts and love letters.

"If you refuse to read these letters, then I'm going to read them for you."

I grunted in disapproval but that went unnoticed by Sakura, who was too preoccupied with opening one of the envelopes to _help_ me read out the content.

She had yet to read through the whole thing and I could already see how entertained she was.

"Dear Sasuke-sama, you are no doubt the most handsome person I had ever laid eyes on. Your dark eyes and raven hair are nothing but beautiful. Not to mention how captivating your body is. I still remember that day when I went to watch you play basketball after school and you took off your shirt after the game was over. Seeing your body for the first time had made my nose bleed and countless indecent thoughts came flooding into my mind from then onwards. I can't push the image of your naked torso from my mind and it will always make me feel hot a-"

When I could no longer stand listening to the disturbing things inside that letter, I placed a hand over Sakura's mouth to stop her from continuing. I grew even more irritated when Sakura started laughing at my reaction.

I removed my hand from Sakura's mouth and crossed my arms in front of my chest. I sighed as Sakura started an uproar as if she didn't have any worry in the world. When she had laughed longer than she should, I sent a glare at her way, hoping that it would shut her up.

It ended up making her laugh even more.

"This is too funny." Sakura managed to speak after she had calmed down a little. "She's practically offering herself to you by saying those things."

"Whatever."

My respond earned a questioning look from Sakura and I urged her to speak up her mind.

"Do you happen to lack the necessary hormones to feel sexual desires?"

"What?" I hissed dangerously at Sakura who was openly questioning my sexual capabilities. Who in their right mind would do that?

"Well, this girl is obviously indirectly telling you that she wants to _hang out_ in a sexual way and yet you don't seem interested at all. How is that even normal?"

I wasn't sure why I felt a strong need to show Sakura that I was a perfectly normal and healthy sixteen year old teenager. But what I did to prove myself was even more questionable.

I leaned towards Sakura, closing the gap between our faces. When our noses almost touched, I smirked before saying something I would later regret.

"If I will kiss you right here and then, will it convince you that I'm normal?"

Sakura's face turned bright red immediately. She was completely stunned and it made me realized how messed up my words were. But before I could say anything, Sakura hastily replied before dashing out of the room.

"You're an idiot, Sasuke."

I watched Sakura leave the room in a hurry and closed the door behind her. I stayed still for a few moments, reflecting on what I had done.

" _I shouldn't have said that, should I?"_

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

" _Stupid Sasuke and his stupid jokes."_

When Sasuke suddenly got so close, my heart felt like it was on the verge of bursting. Feeling his breath touching my skin made my face heat up in an instant.

And I just had to make myself look pathetic by running away like that.

I needed to calm my racing heart so I called Ino to tell her that I wanted to meet up. After the two of us decided to go to a café we often frequent, I went to change my clothes before asking permission from Mikoto, who was at the living room with her oldest son, Itachi.

"Mikoto-san, is it alright for me to go out to meet a friend?"

"Of course, Sakura." Mikoto was as heartwarming as usual. But her next words had definitely shocked me. "Are you going on a date with your boyfriend?"

"What?" My voice trailed off, not understanding why Mikoto would think that way.

"Is it Naruto Uzumaki?" I snapped towards Itachi, who appeared to be equally amused by the situation. Even though I wasn't as close to him as I was with Sasuke, we were considered as rather good friends I guessed.

As for his awfully wrong guess of who my non-existent boyfriend was, I assumed it was due to the well-known fact that Naruto had a crush on me for quite a long time. And since Itachi was a third year student in our school, it wasn't a surprise he had heard about it.

"No." I glared at Itachi briefly before giving a nervous smile to Mikoto. I swore I caught a glimpse of Itachi's smirk but I pretended to have not noticed it. Paying any more attention to it would most probably boil my blood. "I'm meeting Ino, Mikoto-san. And I don't have a boyfriend."

Mikoto appeared to be disappointed and it only served to make me feel even more uncomfortable. Mikoto and I often had casual chats, when she would ask me about my day at school or she would ask me to tell her more about my friends. That was why she was familiar with who my closest friends were. She was also very interested in knowing who I liked. Of course, I couldn't tell her the truth.

She said she had always seen me as her own daughter and I could feel her motherly love for me. When she first told me that, I remembered tears falling down from my eyes because I was very touched by her words.

"But you're such a great girl, Sakura. I'm sure you can easily get yourself a boyfriend." Mikoto was pouting slightly as she grabbed onto my arm. All I could manage was a soft giggle and a rather a rather forced smile.

" _What's the point of being so great if I can never be with the one I love?"_

* * *

"He did that?!"

I had to remind Ino to keep her voice down when I told her what happened between Sasuke and I. She was attracting unnecessary attention towards our table in the café.

"Sakura, he definitely has feelings for you. You should stop caring about useless stuffs like backgrounds and just confess to him!"

"Ino, for the hundredth time, it is not as easy as that."

"I think you're just making things complicated for yourself. If two people like each other, then they should get together. It's as simple as that."

I was too tired to argue with Ino and sighed instead. Annoyed with my lack of responds, Ino continued talking in a more agitated tone.

"I think you're looking down on yourself, Sakura. You are definitely at the top in the looks department despite your weird pink hair. And you're one of the smartest in our batch and will one day become a successful doctor like what you always wanted. Even though you're not a genius like Shikamaru, but at least you're still one of the top scorers. Also, although you could be rather violent and fierce, if you put in some effort, you can easily become a rather graceful woman."

"I'm not sure if you're complimenting me or insulting me, Ino."

"To be honest, I'm not so sure myself."

There were a few moments of silence between us before we broke into heartfelt laughter. Ino always knew how to cheer me up and she rarely failed to do so. I felt much better already just being around her.

"It's getting late so let's go home, Ino."

"You didn't forget the plans we made with Hinata and Tenten for tomorrow, right?"

"Of course I didn't. I've been looking forward for it."

Just when we were about to leave the café, it suddenly began to rain heavily. Ino grumbled something incoherent under her breath while I just stared at the pouring rain.

"Great, now we're going to be soaked." Ino's mumbling became clear for once and I nodded weakly in agreement.

Ino and I needed to walk back to the train station, which meant that we must go through the rain without umbrellas. It definitely didn't sound like a good way to end the night but we didn't have much of a choice.

But when we left the café, I was in for a greater surprise than the sudden downpour.

Sasuke was outside the café, leaning against that expensive black car he adored with an umbrella in his hand.

"Sasuke, what are you doing here?"

The heavy rain was deafening and my words were overpowered by it. I stared blankly at Sasuke, who walked over to me and placed part of the umbrella over my head.

"What are you doing here?" I repeated my question when Sasuke was close enough to hear me.

"I'm here to take you home, obviously."

"Why?"

Sasuke was beginning to be fed up with my questions and a small frown appeared on his face.

"Because I saw the weather forecast and assumed you didn't bring an umbrella along. So I asked my mother where you are and came to fetch you. Satisfied?"

I yelped when Sasuke pulled my arm towards the car without warning me. I turned towards Ino, who was grinning way too widely and she was obviously suppressing a roaring laughter.

She casually waved at me and ran off towards the direction of the train station. Before she was out of sight, she gave me the 'I-won't-disturb-the-two-of-you' look.

My eyes went back to Sasuke, who was slightly soaked on the side because he made sure the rain wouldn't touch me. A much too familiar ache clenched my heart at the very sight of that.

The smallest things Sasuke did always made me love him even more.

But at the same time, it made me realize how painful this one-sided love was.

* * *

Author's Note: Hopefully that was a decent start. Please send a review on your way out to share with me your opinions regarding this fanfic. Of course, follows and favorites are highly appreciated! Thank you for reading and hope to see you in the next chapter.


	2. Unexpected Circumstances

Author's Note: You guys have no idea how happy I am to see so many supportive readers for this fanfic! Thank you so much! I appreciate the positive reviews and suggestions too. I will do my best to make this fanfic great.

P.S. I know a lot of people are concerned about things like love triangles. Don't worry everyone. Nobody will get in between Sasuke and Sakura. (insert a wink)

P.S.S Thanks, _ILoveSxS_ , for pointing out the confusion! I have editted this chapter to correct that part.

Chapter 2: Unexpected Circumstances

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

" _What's this ticklish feeling on my face?"_

Judging from the light penetrating my heavy eyelids, I knew that it was already morning. Most of the time, I wouldn't set my alarm on weekends unless I had something going on. But apparently, someone had volunteered to become my alarm clock so early in the morning on a peaceful Saturday.

There was only one person who would do that.

Without opening my eyes, I grabbed onto Sakura's hand which was holding onto something feathery. I heard her yelp and her body tensed up in surprise. I slowly cracked an eye open and caught sight of the feather duster Sakura used to wake me up.

"You're annoying, Sakura."

"You say that all the time, Sasuke."

"Can't you think of a better way to wake me up?" I sat up and leaned against the headboard. I glared at Sakura who didn't seem to care that she had annoyed me.

"I tried waking you up by shaking your shoulder but you didn't even budge. Your father wants you to be awake right away. He wants you and Itachi to accompany him to a lunch with a business partner." Sakura shot back a glare and crossed her arms in front of her.

"Still, you could have done something better than using a dusty feather duster." I got off the bed and stretched a little, obviously still feeling quite sleepy.

"Then how do you want me to wake you up instead? If it's not too bad of an idea, I will consider using it next time."

Sakura spoke as she used the feather duster, which I had grown to hate, to clean up my room. I lazily watched her as I began considering her question seriously.

My sleepy self must have gotten the better of me because I couldn't believe I said what I did.

"I'll like it better if you'll kiss me instead."

For a second, I was praying hard that Sakura didn't hear me. After all, I was almost mumbling to myself. But when I turned to look at Sakura, I saw that she was frozen on her tracks.

She definitely heard me.

I was about to tell Sakura I was just joking when my face came in contact with the feather duster which Sakura was holding onto to a few seconds ago. I winced in pain and coughed when dust went straight into my nose.

"What was that for?" I said in between coughs and narrowed my eyes at Sakura, who was red due to a mixture of anger and what seemed to be embarrassment.

"You're annoying." Sakura muttered before turning away from me.

An awkward silence fell upon us and it was getting unusually unbearable. Sakura looked like she wanted to dig a hole and hide there until she could calm down.

I cleared my throat before coming up with a reasonable excuse to escape the torturous situation I brought myself into.

"I better start getting ready now."

When I walked over to get a change of clothes from my wardrobe, I gave the feather duster on the floor one last glare.

I blamed it for what had happened.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

I hated how Sasuke appeared so calm while my heart was on the verge of bursting. It just wasn't fair.

Right after Sasuke disappeared into his bathroom, I slumped onto the floor and pulled my hair in frustration. I just couldn't understand why I acted that way.

It was just a joke. There was nothing more than that.

I took a deep breath and pulled myself together. I quickly finished cleaning up Sasuke's room before making a run out of it.

I doubt I was capable of interacting with him for the time being after making a huge embarrassment out of myself.

It was a relief that I managed to finish all my work on time so I wasn't late meeting up with my friends. Ino, Hinata and Tenten were already at the restaurant when I arrived.

"Hello, Sakura." Hinata greeted me with one of her usual gentle smiles. Sometimes I wondered how such a graceful person existed. She definitely lived up to her wealthy young lady status.

"Now that Sakura's here, let's order. I'm starving!" Tenten raised her hand and waved for one of the waiters with more power than necessary.

If one wasn't familiar with Tenten, they would be surprised at how energetic she was despite being famished. That was just how she was and being around her was always fun that way.

After we placed our orders and the waiter had left our table, Ino was giggling like an excited child.

"I can't wait to go shopping. It's been so long!"

"Ino, you just went shopping two days ago." I reminded Ino of her shopping spree but she nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders.

"Two days is a long time, forehead."

I rolled my eyes at shook my head at that shopaholic friend of mine. I suddenly remembered the time Ino forced Shikamaru to accompany her to shop.

From that day onwards, Shikamaru swore to never do that again. He was horribly bored to death and those few hours had become the worst moments of his life.

But then again, with Ino's skills in persuasion and also their very questionable relationship, more days like that would definitely come in the future.

I understand Ino too much to be sure of that.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

"Hiashi, it's been a long time."

"It sure has, Fugaku."

The business partner Sakura mentioned was no other than Hiashi Hyuuga, the CEO of the Hyuuga Corporation. Both the Uchiha and Hyuuga Corporations had been business partners for the longest of time, even before I was even born.

We had lunch at a fancy restaurant in a five stars hotel. The sparkling chandeliers were almost blinding but I got used to it after a while.

I wasn't surprised to see that Hiashi brought Neji along with him. After all, it was not a secret that Neji was the successor to the Hyuuga Corporation.

In the midst of our conversation about business, Hiashi changed the topic into something rather unexpected of him.

"I am wondering, Sasuke. Do you have a girlfriend right now?"

I was taken aback by his question but of course, I didn't let it show on my face. I held back my urge to glare at Neji, who seemed to be suppressing laughter. He knew me well enough to know that his uncle's question startled me.

"I don't, Hiashi-san." I answered in the most courteous manner I could manage.

Sakura often pointed out that I tend to look mad all the time and spoke disrespectfully. Of course, I did not intend for things to appear that way. I just wasn't the type to bother much with things like manners. I wasn't Neji who seemed to be born with the ability to be so unbelievably polite.

"That's unusual for someone as outstanding as you. Is there someone you're interested in though?"

Upon hearing Hiashi's second question, an image of a girl with pink hair appeared in my mind. I quickly pushed it away, not understanding why it surfaced in the first place.

"Nobody."

I swore, if Hiashi, my father and my brother weren't around, Neji would've snorted. I glance over at Neji, warning him through my gaze not to say anything unnecessary.

"I see. I was thinking it will be great if you and Hinata can get to know each other more. I think the two of you suit each other."

Neji chocked on the water he was drinking and I was completely stunned.

Was Hiashi being bloody serious?

"That sounds like a good idea. Aren't you classmates with Hinata, Sasuke?"

I nodded at my father's question, completely clueless as to what I should say. I looked at Neji, secretly hoping he had an idea on how to end the conversation.

Unfortunately, he was as hopeless as I was.

"Hinata is a little shy but I'm sure someone as smart as you will know what to do."

Hiashi's words gave me an idea on how to escape from the horrendous conversation I was in. It took almost all the self-control I had inside me to not smirk at the _genius_ plan I just came up with.

I managed a small smile as I spoke, trying my best not to show that I was enjoying the situation a little bit too much.

"I'm afraid I'm not as good as Neji when it comes to courting girls."

Neji was lucky he wasn't taking another sip from his glass of water, or else he would definitely choke again. The horrified look on his face was much too entertaining for me.

"Is Neji currently seeing someone?" My father's question was filled with genuine curiosity. Who wouldn't be interested to know who had captured the heart of the Hyuuga protégé?

Itachi and I knew the answer too well. Everyone at school was aware of the fact that Neji was heads over heels in love with a certain brunette.

And that it took him quite a lot of effort to finally win her heart.

"He is." I answered on behalf of Neji, who was badly trying to restrain himself from sending me deadly glares. For him to still be capable of appearing calm at that very moment was very admirable.

"Why have you never mentioned anything about this, Neji? Do tell us more." Hiashi definitely had yet to hear about Neji's rather dramatic love story. It made things even more interesting. At least that was the case for Itachi and me.

Neji sent a subtle glare towards me before going back to face two overly curious men.

That close friend of mine wasn't going to let me off that easily for what I did to him. But it was all worth it at the end.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

"Achoo!"

Tenten suddenly sneezed, startling the three of us who was walking alongside her. She violently rubbed her nose and seemed rather irritated.

"I think someone's talking about me behind my back." Tenten glared at the floor as if it had offended her greatly.

"Maybe it's just Neji who is missing you badly."

Tenten lightly punched Ino on her arm for the teasing. I giggled when I saw Tenten blushing furiously. However, despite the embarrassment, there was a blissful smile on her face.

To be honest, I was really envious of Tenten. Who wouldn't want to be with the person he or she loved?

Just then, we walked pass a knitting store, which was filled with yarns of various colors. I stopped in my tracks to admire the beautiful little shop. I saw that my friends did the same and it was Ino who ran into the store first.

The rest of us followed as well and was mesmerized by every part of the store. I walked towards a cabinet where knitting tools were displayed. I was tracing the outline of a silver knitting needle when an idea came to mind.

Sasuke's birthday was arriving in a week. For quite some time already, I would always bake a cake for him on his birthday. I never actually bought him a present before. It wasn't because I didn't want to though. But he could afford much more than I could and I doubt I would be able to buy something satisfactory.

But when I saw the knitting needles and yarns, I suddenly thought of giving a handmade scarf for his upcoming birthday. Of course, I wouldn't forget about the homemade cake. It had sort of become a tradition to bake him one.

Even though my handmade scarf would be almost nothing compared to those designer scarves he always wore, I felt like giving him something different this year.

No, it wasn't because I wanted to express my love or anything like that. I just didn't want Sasuke to complain about my lack of creativity. Not that he ever complained about my repetitive birthday present but I just wanted to make sure it would not happen.

And honestly, a part of me just wanted to knit a scarf for him. It was as simple as that.

I took the knitting needles I had been admiring and a dark blue yarn before heading towards the cashier.

" _I hope my first knitted masterpiece won't be too hideous."_

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

There was a meeting my father had to attend back in the company so it was only my brother and I who were heading back home. Itachi was driving while I blankly stared through the window.

Itachi and I weren't exactly a pair of talkative siblings. It wasn't because we hated each other or something. We just simply appreciate peace and quiet a little more than most people.

Itachi, however, didn't feel that way on that particular day.

"Are you sure you're not interested in anybody?"

My brother was definitely not the nosy type. And that was the very reason why I didn't expect he would bring up the topic I had once successfully escaped from.

I was reminded on how my father and Hiashi bombarded Neji with countless questions regarding his relationship, _torturing_ my white eyed friend to no end. If it weren't for Itachi's weird behavior, I might have actually chuckled at the memory.

For the second time that day, Sakura appeared on my mind when that question was asked. Just like the first time, I shoved the image aside and was left confused.

"Yes, I'm very sure."

Itachi wasn't even trying to hide his smirk when he heard my respond. He was obviously mocking me for some unknown reason.

If you asked me what I hated from Itachi, I would say it was his know-it-all personality. But then again, at the end of the day, it would always be proven that he was right. And then I would end up getting even more annoyed.

Seriously though, was it even possible for Itachi to understand my mind and heart more than I did?

At that time, I chose not to know the answer.

Itachi didn't speak throughout the rest of the ride and the topic was dropped once again.

* * *

It was 8 PM, an hour after I had dinner, and I was bored out of my mind. When I could no longer stand staring at the ceiling anymore, I decided to go check if Sakura was back already.

Her room was on the same floor as mine and was just down the hallway. It's a habit of mine, to head over to Sakura's room whenever I was bored. It was always more interesting to have her around, after all.

There was something about her that made me unable to get tired of being with her. I guessed that was why we could stay so close all these years.

As I walked towards Sakura's room, I was hoping she was no longer bothered with the event in the morning.

When I first knocked on the door to Sakura's room, there was no answer. I thought that perhaps she wasn't back yet but gave another try to be sure.

"Are you in there, Sakura?"

There were a few moments of silence before Sakura spoke from the other side of the door.

"Y-Yes, give me a second."

I did what I was told and stood in front of the door as I waited. It didn't take very long before Sakura finally opened the door, revealing herself in a rather oversized white t-shirt and a pair of black pants which appeared almost invisible due to its shortness.

I took in the sight in front of me and mentally noted that Sakura was no longer the little girl she used to be. I hastily looked away, making sure that I wouldn't end up checking her out way too obviously.

"What took you so long? Were you doing something indecent?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at my accusation before turning around to go back into her room.

"I'm not you, Sasuke."

I closed the door behind me and hated it when I caught myself staring at Sakura's swaying butt.

" _Looks like hanging out at Sakura's room is not as easy as it used to be."_

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

"This movie is hilarious!"

I was clutching onto my stomach as I laughed from watching the comedy movie Sasuke and I chose. We almost chose to watch a horror movie but I was glad we didn't. This movie was too good to be true.

Even Sasuke, who was known to be emotionally incapable, was chuckling throughout the movie.

I had always enjoyed hanging around with Sasuke like that. I pretended to have forgotten about what happened in the morning because I didn't want to risk having the mood ruined. Sitting on the bed and watching a movie from the laptop might not seem like anything special, but for me, they were moments that I would cherish.

It's because I would never know when I could never do it again.

After the movie was finished, I lay down on the bed and sighed contently. Sasuke did the same after placing my laptop on the night stand. I must have laughed too much because I felt drained.

I could have easily fallen asleep if it weren't for my ringing phone. I was too comfortable to move and reach for my phone on the night stand. Luckily for me, Sasuke was considerate enough to help me get my phone and handed it over to me.

I thanked him before looking at the screen of my phone. It turned out to be Naruto who was calling. I answered it and hope Naruto didn't call just to talk about ramen.

"Hello, Naruto."

Sasuke tensed up a little when he heard Naruto's name. I shrugged it off though, not giving it many thoughts.

"Hello, Sakura! I called to ask if you're free tomorrow." Naruto's voice was as loud as ever over the phone. Did he ever get sleepy in his life?

"Why?"

"I want to ask you out on a date tomorrow!"

"You want to go on a date tomorrow?" I repeated the question to check if I heard wrongly. I knew for quite some time about Naruto's crush on me but he had never exactly officially asked me out on a date like that.

"That's right!"

I gave it some thought and didn't find any reason to reject Naruto. I could go on a date with him tomorrow and see how it would be like. And if I decided that he wasn't the one for me, I would just tell him by the end of the day.

"I see. I-"

Before I could finish my sentence, Sasuke took my phone away from me almost violently.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

"Sakura is busy tomorrow."

It was purely out of reflex for me to snatch the phone from Sakura and inform Naruto that Sakura would not be free on Sunday. My action had confused Sakura greatly, who wasn't even aware that she was busy tomorrow.

"That's rude of you, Sasuke!" Sakura was frowning as she glared at me for what I did. I ignored her and also Naruto's constant grumbling on the other side of the line.

I hung up on Naruto before he could say another word. I sighed a little before going back to face Sakura, who appeared to have one big question for me.

"Since when am I busy tomorrow?"

"You're going out with me tomorrow."

"When was that decided?" Sakura stared at me suspiciously, as if trying to find out some hidden truth.

I cleared my throat before answering, "I need to buy something and you're coming with me."

Sakura sighed before nodding and I was glad she stopped asking questions. I thanked my brain for how fast it was to think of a lie to handle the situation.

Seriously, why did I act that way? All I knew was how my blood boiled whenever the picture of Sakura being with Naruto crossed my mind.

My strange behavior had gotten myself an unexpected _date_ with Sakura.

To be honest, that didn't sound very bad at all.

* * *

Author's Note: If you're curious about their _date_ , please look forward to the next chapter! Reviews are no doubt one of my greatest sources of encouragement so please do leave reviews on your way out. Follows and favorites will make me really happy as well. Thank you for reading and have a nice day!


	3. Understanding Love

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews, follows and favorites! You have no idea how happy they make me. Hope you'll like chapter 3!

P.S. To _ILoveSxS_ , in case you didn't see the note I left in chapter 2, I want to thank you for pointing out the confusion in the previous chapter!

Chapter 3: Understanding Love

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

"What is it that you want to buy, Sasuke?"

"I'm not sure."

"What do you mean you're not sure?! We've been walking around aimlessly for more than half an hour already."

I rolled my eyes when Sasuke didn't even bother answering my question. He just continued walking straight without glancing over at me.

" _And here I thought I know him rather well. But I can never fully grasp how that minds of his works."_

I stopped on my tracks when I caught sight of something familiar inside one of the stores. I rushed towards the window to take a closer look.

The tiny teddy bear on display was exactly like the one Sasuke gave me when we were still kids.

"It looks exactly like the teddy bear I gave you during your seventh birthday."

I jumped a little in surprise when Sasuke suddenly appeared beside me. His eyes were fixated on the teddy bear which had caught my attention.

I nodded with a sad frown on my face. It was the first birthday present I received from Sasuke and I treasured it a lot. It was really small and had a chain attached to it. I loved it so much that I hung it onto my school backpack.

"I still can't believe I lost it."

I muttered softly under my breath and it was followed by a heavy sigh. I still remembered how upset I was when I realized I had lost the teddy bear. I wasn't even sure how it got off from my backpack.

"You were so sad that you actually cried at school when you couldn't find it anywhere."

I glared at Sasuke when I sensed his mocking tone. He reminded me of the day I cried at school for the very first time.

* * *

 _Flashback_

"I can't find it anywhere, Sasuke!"

I ran towards Sasuke while crying, telling him that I had lost the teddy bear he gave me. I noticed it went missing during lunch time and began searching for it immediately. I even completely forgot that I had yet to have lunch.

"It's okay, Sakura."

"No, it's not!"

My sobbing grew louder by the second and I knew I was attracting attention from people around me. But at that moment, I was too sad to care.

"I'll buy you a bigger teddy bear next time." Sasuke spoke as he patted my head to comfort me. The instant I felt Sasuke's warmth, my tears stopped falling and my sobs subsided.

"But it's different." My whisper was soft but it was heard by Sasuke nevertheless.

When Sasuke removed his hand from my head, I thought that he was angry at me for being a crybaby. For a second, I thought he didn't want to be my friend anymore.

But then, I felt Sasuke's hand holding onto mine and started pulling me with him.

"Where are you taking me, Sasuke?"

"Lunch, obviously. You haven't eaten right?"

I followed Sasuke in silence, feeling stunned at how considerate he was.

That day, I saw a side of Sasuke's that I wanted to see more in the future.

 _End of Flashback_

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

I couldn't forget the sadness reflecting from Sasuke's crying face that day. When I saw her tears, all I wanted to do was to stop them from falling.

That day, I found out how much I hated to see Sakura cry. It had a mysterious ability to make my heart ache and I didn't like it at all.

I suddenly remembered that I told Sakura I would buy her a bigger teddy bear. I never got to do so though.

" _Well, better late than never."_

I entered the store without a word, much to Sakura's surprise. I was standing in front of a cabinet with various teddy bears on display when Sakura tugged on my shirt's sleeve for my attention.

"What are you doing in here?"

I glanced over at Sakura and gave her an odd look before replying.

"I'm buying something. Isn't that obvious?"

"I never knew you're a fan of teddy bears, Sasuke."

"Do I look like the type to sleep with a doll in my arms?" I gave Sakura one last glare before reaching out for a brown teddy bear with a pink ribbon around its neck. Ignoring Sakura's questioning expression, I walked over to the cashier to pay for the doll in my hands.

Once I was done, I walked back to Sakura and handed her the medium sized teddy bear I just bought. She was staring at it in disbelief and was completely speechless.

"It is stupid of you if you were to lose this."

I mentally scolded myself for sounding mean, which was the complete opposite of what I was doing.

"You just can't say nice things, can you? I can't believe you remembered that you promised to buy a bigger teddy bear." Sakura spoke as she held the teddy bear further away from her, giving it a better look.

"I have a good memory." The slight tint of pink on Sakura's cheek made her look even more adorable. I looked away to prevent myself from staring like a creep.

When we stepped outside of the store, Sakura gave me one of those genuine smiles of hers which I couldn't seem to get enough of.

"Thank you, Sasuke."

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

I placed the teddy bear safely inside my bag and was making sure I wouldn't lose it for the second time. After we left the shop, we went back to walking around with no specific destination. However, I didn't mind at all.

As time passed, it actually felt more and more like a date.

I felt embarrassed seeing things that way but couldn't a girl just live in her little fantasy once in a while?

"Is there anywhere you like to go?"

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Sasuke's question. I quickly regained my composure, not wanting to show that I had been daydreaming.

"Nowhere in particular." I answered while looking around, not wanting to make eye contact with Sasuke.

Just then, I caught sight of two very familiar looking people. One of them was way too eye-catching to not notice.

"Sakura, what a coincidence!" The person who was naturally attracting eyes towards him was no other than Rock Lee. It was not a secret that Lee had a crush on me but wasn't it quite obvious that I wasn't interested?

Well, let's just say he was way too clueless.

"Are the two of you on a date?" My eyes travelled to Lee's companion, who was smirking in a way that was almost similar to that of Sasuke's. Besides Sasuke himself, nobody else could manage that other than Neji Hyuuga.

"No." Sasuke answered Neji's question much too quickly, making my heart clenched uncomfortably. Even though he was speaking the truth, it was still painful to watch my fantasy destroyed to pieces right in front of me.

" _It's time to go back to reality, Sakura."_

"Do you want to join us for an afternoon tea, Sakura?" Lee asked in his usual enthusiastic tone and I could see that he was trying not to jump in excitement.

"Sure." Since I wasn't on a _date_ , I didn't see why we shouldn't join some friends for a chat.

Before I could stop Lee, I was dragged towards a nearby café. And perhaps it was just my imagination when I heard Sasuke grunting in annoyance behind me.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

"I have yet to forgive you for the hell you put me through yesterday."

Neji whispered dangerously at me once Sakura and Lee were already a few steps ahead of us. I almost chuckled when I was reminded on how horrified Neji looked when he was practically forced to talk about his relationship with Tenten.

It annoyed Neji even more when I simply shrugged my shoulders and followed Sakura and Lee without another word.

* * *

"You don't have to look like you're trying to kill Lee with your glare, Sasuke."

I snapped my head towards Neji and sent the said glare towards him instead. After listening to Lee's non-stop speech about the most useless things on Earth, he finally suggested walking around the mall for a change. He was glued onto Sakura and didn't leave her side for a second.

I wasn't even sure how Sakura could stand being around him for more than an hour.

When Lee and Sakura went into a nearby store and were out of earshot, I stopped walking and turned towards Neji.

"Neji, I need to ask you something."

"Wow, that's a first. What?"

I couldn't believe a day would come when I needed help from Neji regarding _this_. But I got tired wrecking my brain for answers.

"How do you know if you like someone?"

An awkward silence befell us once my question was asked. The atmosphere was unbearable and I started to regret ever opening this mouth of mine.

But it was too late to take back my words.

I glanced over to Neji, who was being awfully quiet. I hastily broke our eye contact when I saw that Neji was clearly trying to suppress laughter.

" _He's not going to ever forget this day."_

Neji cleared his throat and didn't bother hiding the mocking smile on his face before beginning his little _lesson_.

"Even though I'm still mad about yesterday, seeing how desperate you are, I will be the good person I am and help you out."

"I am not desperate." I hissed angrily at Neji's accusation. I was just curious and that was all there was to it.

"If you say so." Neji smirked mockingly at me before speaking again. "Well, basically, if you like someone, you'll feel unusually happy around that person. Also, you absolutely hate it when she's around another guy. And you'll always want to spend time with her and will easily miss her. I guess it's something like that. Damn it, it's awkward to have conversations like this with you. You're bloody unresponsive."

I gave Neji's words some thoughts in silence, all the while staring at the ground blankly.

Sakura was my closest friend so naturally, I would feel happy around her. As for getting pissed off whenever the likes of Naruto and Lee got close to her, it was because I didn't think they deserve to be with Sakura. It was as simple as that. And being with Sakura almost all the time, I never actually got the chance to miss her.

I wondered what it felt like to be missing her.

"Stop convincing yourself that you don't like Sakura. It's pathetic."

With that said, Neji left me dumbfounded and headed towards where Sakura and Lee were.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

If I were to listen to Lee talking about _youthful passions_ for another minute, I would lose my mind.

Later that night, I went to a nearby convenience store to stock up some of Sasuke's favorite chocolates. He would get really grumpy whenever he ran out of them.

Sometimes, Sasuke really behaved like he was on PMS. The first and only time I told that to his face, he refused to talk to me for one whole day.

I found it too amusing to get upset over the silent treatment, which didn't even last long.

I went straight to the alley where the chocolate was displayed and looked for Sasuke's favorite. He was really picky and wouldn't eat any other chocolate besides that particular one he liked.

But just when I was about to reach out for the chocolates, I heard a loud thud nearby. It sounded like someone had collapse onto the floor. I turned to my right and gasped when I spotted a man lying on the ground.

I rushed to the semi-conscious man and realized that he was covered in a thick layer of sweat. He was panting hard and seemed to be in pain. I brushed off his red hair and placed my hand on his forehead, touching his unique tattoo which was a kanji of the word 'love'. Despite being ill, I must say the man looked gorgeous.

" _He's running a high fever."_

"Hey, can you hear me?" The only reply I received from the man was a low grunt. His eyebrows were furrowed uncomfortably and it was then when I noticed the distinctive black rings around his eyes.

" _He doesn't look so good. I need to do something."_

I carefully helped him up and leaned his body against the wall. I quickly searched through the alleys to locate a relief pad. When I found what I needed and paid for it, I hurried back to the red haired man and placed the relief pad onto his forehead.

" _That will stabilize his condition for now. But I still think he needs to go to the hospital."_

I slowly carried the man onto my back and had never been so glad I was gifted with considerable strength. The nearest hospital was at least ten minutes walk away but carrying him with me would be faster than waiting for the ambulance.

I could feel the man's heat on my back and his heavy pants on my neck. I tried to move as fast as I could while making sure the person I was carrying wouldn't fall.

"Hang in there. I'm taking you to the hospital."

Two nurses took the man from me once I arrived at the hospital. I was made to fill in a form but couldn't do so because I knew nothing about the sick man.

"Then please sign your name on this form and leave the rest to us."

A nurse handed me the form and I signed my name at the bottom. I was about to check on the man I just brought into the hospital when my phone suddenly rang. I looked at the screen and saw that it was Sasuke.

"What is it, Sasuke?"

"Where in the world are my chocolates?"

"Oh, right. I almost forgot."

"You almost _forgot_?" Sasuke hissed at the other side of the line and I quickly spoke before he would go on one of his chocolate-deprived rampages.

"I'll be back with your chocolates real soon, Sasuke- _sama_. Stop acting like a spoilt brat."

I hung up the call with a huge sigh before leaving the hospital without checking on the man.

" _That guy should be alright."_

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

"I heard about your little problem from Neji, Sasuke."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Shikamaru."

"Stop feigning ignorance." Neji had his infamous smirk on as he walked through the hallways alongside Shikamaru and me.

"You're a traitor, Hyuuga."

"You never said I need to keep it a secret."

It was Monday after school ended when I was with Neji and Shikamaru. We were on our way to see the result of our midterm examination which was posted on the bulletin board.

That was when I found out Neji had told Shikamaru about our conversation on Sunday.

"I never thought you're a blabbermouth like Naruto." I shot a glare towards Neji, who completely ignored it. I narrowed my eyes at Shikamaru and warned him to keep his mouth shut. "And you better not say anything unnecessary to Ino."

"I'll think about it." Shikamaru yawned after half-heartedly reassuring me. But before I could give him another piece of my mind, we already arrived at the bulletin board, where a crowd had already gathered.

Thankfully for the three of us, we were above average when it was about height.

"I don't see why we must be bothered with grades. It's so troublesome." Shikamaru commented as he lazily looked for his name. The names were arranged from the highest scorer to the lowest and needless to say, he found his name at the top since he was placed third.

"It's still a mystery as to how you can still be in third place despite being such a lazy ass." Neji said bitterly and got even more frustrated when he found out he got the fourth highest grade. Neji simply didn't like to lose to people, which was something I could totally understand.

I gave Neji a smug smirk when I saw that I was the top scorer, again. I looked back to the list and saw that Sakura was ranked second. She would always make a big fuss every time our grades were released because she never got to snatch the first place from me.

"Looks like Sasuke's _girlfriend_ did as well as she usually does." Neji spoke as he started walking away. I followed closely behind and tried not to be too bothered with what he said.

"She's not my girlfriend." I whispered under my breath but I didn't expect Shikamaru to have heard me.

"She'll never be if you continue being the coward you are."

And as always, Shikamaru was mostly probably right about that.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

Why could I never score higher than Sasuke? That was downright annoying.

We lived together so I was aware that I studied more than he did. During every exam period, Sasuke would often come to my room and laze around while I studied intensively.

It was just so unfair.

When I was finished with Sasuke's laundry, I brought it to his room and found him inside. He was on his bed and had a book in his hands.

I grumbled while arranging Sasuke's clothes into his wardrobe. When I heard Sasuke shifting on his bed, I knew that he was walking towards my way.

He tapped on my shoulder, making me turn around to face him. He grabbed one of my hands and placed one of the bars of chocolates I bought for him on Sunday.

"Treat it as a consolation gift for ranking second _again_."

I had a strong urge to punch the arrogant smile on his face but decided not to at the end. After putting the chocolate into my pocket, I pinched both of Sasuke's cheeks harder than I should. He was wincing in pain but that didn't stop me from continuing what I was doing.

I finally let go of his face when it seemed like I could permanently deform that handsome face of his. Sasuke glared at me as I walked away, all the while telling Sasuke what an arrogant bastard he was.

I went back to my room after leaving Sasuke's. I was barely inside for a minute when a knock was heard on my door. At first, I thought it was Sasuke, who was planning to seek revenge for the _small_ pain I caused him. But I was wrong and it turned out to be Mikoto who was outside of my room.

"Mikoto-san, is there anything I can do for you?"

Mikoto smiled at me before entering my room and closed the door behind her. She gently tugged me towards the bed where the two of us sat. I gave her a questioning look which urged Mikoto to speak up.

"I'm here to ask you about Hinata Hyuuga. She is one of your close friends, right? You told me about her before."

"Yes, I did. What do you wish to know about Hinata, Mikoto-san?" It wasn't unusual of Mikoto to be curious about my friends. But it was weird that she was asking about Hinata in particular.

"I won't beat about the bush with you, Sakura. You're part of the family, after all! Actually, Fugaku and I feel that it will be great if Sasuke and Hinata can get to know each other more. Even Hinata's father, Hiashi-san, thinks so too. Since you're close with both of them, I want to ask your opinion on this."

The more Mikoto spoke, the more my heart clenched painfully. An all too familiar ache was felt and I tried to suppress it by clenching my fists around my skirt. I managed a smile with all my might, hoping that it wouldn't appear too fake for Mikoto to notice the pain behind my eyes.

"I think the two of them suit well." There was a lump on my throat and I had to swallow hard to make it disappear. "Hinata is a really kindhearted girl and she's wonderful as well. She's very shy but it makes her even more demure."

A pang of pain crushed my heart when I saw Mikoto's eyes sparkling in excitement. She placed my hands into hers and stared into my eyes. It took all the strength I had left inside me to not look away.

"Can I ask you for a favor, Sakura?"

"What is it, Mikoto-san?"

"Can you help me get Sasuke and Hinata together? I can't think of anyone else to turn to besides you!"

What Mikoto was asking me to do was something that would hurt me endlessly. But it wasn't like I never expected a day like this would arrive. I just didn't expect it would be Hinata.

There wasn't any way out of that situation though.

"Sure, I'll help you."

Mikoto squealed when I agreed to her request and hugged me tightly. Usually, I would be comforted by Mikoto's warmth but that wasn't the case that time round.

All I could feel at that very moment was pain and nothing else.

* * *

The next day at school, I kept sighing and staring blankly at nowhere. I didn't feel like telling Ino about what Mikoto asked me to do. I wasn't strong enough yet to face the harsh reality.

When school ended that day, Kakashi-sensei asked me to help him out with an errand. I walked past the school's main gate when I was done and noticed a commotion going on. I didn't bother checking what was happening until I heard nearby girls talking about it.

"Did you see that guy by the gate? He's so good-looking!"

"I know right. And that body of his is simply stunning!"

"But the most attractive part of him is that tattoo of his. I think it's the kanji of 'love'. That's so romantic!"

Hang on, that sounded familiar.

I looked at the giggling girls and followed their gaze until I caught sight of the person they were talking about.

It was the man I carried to the hospital on Sunday.

I was stunned to see him by the gate, looking like he was trying to find someone. He stopped searching when the two of us made eye contact.

I watched him walked towards me with an expressionless face. I could see that he had already recovered and was relieved to know that.

He was staring at me for a while and I felt small under his gaze. I blinked in confusion as I waited for him to speak.

"You're Sakura Haruno, right?"

I nodded to respond to his question. Before I got to speak, he held out his hand for a handshake while introducing himself.

"My name is Gaara and I'm here to thank you for helping me out on Sunday."

There was something about Gaara that made him both intimidating and gentle at the same time. My earlier fears were washed away and I managed to smile sincerely for the first time that day.

"It's my pleasure to be of help, Gaara."

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

I was walking through the hallways with Naruto when we passed by a window which faced the school's main gate. Naruto stopped babbling all of a sudden and seemed to have seen something horrifying.

He abruptly stopped walking and was pointing towards the gate in disbelief.

"W-Who is that person with Sakura?"

I tensed up upon hearing Sakura's name and looked at where Naruto was pointing. My eyes shot wide open before they turned into dangerous slits when I saw a red haired man talking to Sakura.

From where I was, I couldn't hear what they were saying. But when I caught a glimpse of Sakura's smile, I felt annoyed immediately.

It was then that I came up with a conclusion.

It wasn't just Naruto and Lee, but I hated it when Sakura was with _any_ guy.

" _What sort of trouble have I gotten myself into?"_

* * *

Author's Note: Like I had assured previously, there won't be any love triangle drama in this fanfic. So, what is Gaara's role in this story? Keep on following this story to find out! Anyway, please send a review and share with me your thoughts on this fanfic so far. Suggestions are welcomed as well! Keep up with the follows and favorites too, everyone. Thank you for reading and have a nice day!


	4. Ending Denials

Author's Note: The positive reviews make me really happy! Same goes for the follows and favorites.

P.S. A message for _SasuSakuOTP_ : Nothing beats the SasuSaku pairing (insert heart shaped eyes). Thanks for the compliment, by the way!

P.S.S I want to thank _Rui_ and a _Guest_ reviewer for pointing out the mistake regarding the plasters. I'm really sorry for that! I have zero knowledge on knitting (cries). I have edited it so thanks again!

Chapter 4: Ending Denials

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

Gaara and I went to a nearby café after I got my stuffs from my classroom. Walking around the school with Gaara beside me had brought in unwanted attention. But then again, being around Sasuke for so many years, I had already gotten used to those situations.

Gaara was definitely not the talkative type but it wasn't awkward being around him. There was something about him that reminded me of Sasuke. Perhaps it was his 'I'm-too-cool-to-speak-a-lot' aura.

"How did you know where to find me?" I asked before taking a sip of warm tea.

"You signed your name on the hospital's registration form. And I heard from the nurses that you have pink hair. It wasn't very difficult to track you down from there."

It wasn't the first time someone found my pink hair rather distinctive. After all, it wasn't every day you would see someone whose hair was the same color as cherry blossoms.

"How are you feeling right now? You were pretty sick on Sunday." Thinking back of the time I saw him collapse onto the floor, I wondered if it was possible for him to recover in two days.

"I'm alright already. Things would turn out differently if you didn't find me back in the convenience store. The doctor also said the relief pad you placed on my forehead helped as well."

"I'm glad to hear that." My wide smile was returned with a small one from Gaara but it was sincere nevertheless.

"It's amazing that you kept a cool mind and handled the situation so well. I must say you do have the mentality similar to that of a doctor."

"Really?!" I exclaimed a little bit too loudly, slightly startling Gaara. I smiled apologetically before telling the reason behind my questionable reaction. "To be honest, I have always wanted to be a doctor in the future. What you said earlier is a huge compliment for me."

Gaara seemed thoughtful for a while before speaking again.

"I think I know what to do to repay you for helping me out."

I blinked in confusion, not having the slightest idea on what Gaara was talking about. Gaara smiled a little before explaining to me what he meant.

"My family owns a hospital a little further away from here. I know that the one week mid-semester break will start next Monday. If you're interested, you can come to the hospital to be an intern for a week. I'll assign someone to supervise you and show you what it's like to be working in the medical field. I think it will be a great experience for you."

"Are you being bloody serious?" My voice was so soft it could be considered a whisper. My eyes were wide opened in disbelief while my hands were starting to feel cold for some unknown reason.

"You don't like this idea?" Gaara asked when I looked as if I just saw the start of a zombie apocalypse.

I slammed the table all too suddenly to snap myself out from the daze I was in. I took in a deep breath before facing back to Gaara, staring right into his green eyes.

"Thank you so much for this chance!"

"You're welcome. It's the least I can do after what you did for me. I'll contact you again about the internship soon."

Meeting Gaara was definitely a blessing. After all, I was given a chance I never even dreamed of.

* * *

 **Neji's POV**

"What the hell, Uchiha? Are you trying to kill me?"

"Hn."

After school ended, Sasuke suddenly asked Shikamaru and me out to play tennis. Of course, Shikamaru was too lazy to even hold the racquet so it was only Sasuke and me playing.

However, Sasuke had been playing so violently that it was as if I had murdered his pet dog or something. I knew that Uchiha had issues but he was acting much weirder that day.

When Sasuke stopped playing to take a drink, I walked over to Shikamaru to ask if he knew what was going on.

"What's wrong with Sasuke? He hit the ball at me more times than to the floor."

Shikamaru yawned before replying me in that signature lazy tone of his.

"Sasuke didn't say anything but I have a good idea what pissed him off so much. I heard a bunch of girls saying that a guy from another school came to visit Sakura earlier."

"What an idiot." I rolled my eyes when I saw Sasuke glaring at his water bottle as if it had offended him greatly.

For once, Sasuke was acting like a bigger dope than Naruto.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

"Sakura, do you know why Sasuke-sama is in a bad mood?"

"Is he?"

I had yet to meet Sasuke ever since I arrived home. I was helping out at the kitchen when another maid asked me if I knew what happened to Sasuke.

"He seems really angry. It's worse than usual. I wonder what's wrong."

I shrugged my shoulders, having no idea what caused Sasuke to be mad. It wasn't like he never acted like everyone around him had offended him in a way or another.

After the other maid left, Itachi entered to grab a drink from the fridge.

"Itachi, do you happen to know why Sasuke is in a bad mood?"

"Isn't he always in a bad mood?" Itachi answered casually before taking a gulp of water. I had a feeling Itachi knew something but he didn't seem to want to tell me about it.

I was about to go back to work when Itachi spoke again.

"By the way, was that guy with red hair who visited you after school your boyfriend? He seems to be a better choice than Naruto."

"No, he isn't." I sighed in annoyance at another one of Itachi's wrong assumptions. "He's a friend from Suna Academy."

"How do you know him?"

Itachi was being unusually curious but I answered anyway.

"I carried him to the hospital when he collapsed due to a high fever. He came to our school to thank me."

"You carried him on your back?"Itachi sounded surprised for a moment. "Well, I guess I don't expect anything less from you."

"I'll treat that as a compliment."

Itachi smirked before opening the fridge again, taking out a bottle of tomato juice and handed it to me.

"Maybe that will help Sasuke calm down a bit."

I gave the bottle of tomato juice in my hands a glance and thought it might actually work. Everyone in the house knew Sasuke was equally obsessed with tomatoes as much as he was with those chocolates of his.

Before leaving the kitchen, I turned to Itachi to ask him one last time.

"Are you sure you don't know why that brother of yours is in a foul mood?"

"Unfortunately, I don't."

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at Itachi before giving up trying to get something out of him.

Both of the Uchiha brothers were not easy to understand in the first place.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

Turning Neji into a punching bag and aiming tennis balls at him was supposed to calm me down.

But when I pushed him towards his limit, he could no longer stand it and said something that had been lingering in my mind ever since. And his words ended up making me more confused than I already was.

" _If you're going to act like a sour bitch every time Sakura is with another guy, then go and make her your girlfriend!"_

And that was easier said than done. I wasn't even sure about my own feelings, let alone Sakura's. What if I would end up ruining everything we had?

That would just be awkward and awfully pathetic.

Just then, a knock was heard on my door before it opened. I had a glare on and was ready to give whoever entered a piece of my mind.

That was until I saw who it was.

"What's wrong now, Sasuke? Did Aunt Flo pay you a visit?" Sakura closed the door behind her while having a fake sympathetic look on her face.

All I could manage was looking away, not knowing what to say or even what I should be thinking of. I turned back to stare through the window behind me. But Sakura wasn't planning to leave me alone and used something cold to get my attention.

I snapped towards Sakura but came face to face with a bottle of tomato juice instead. I took the bottle into my own hand, catching a glimpse of Sakura's mocking smile.

"The love between you and tomatoes is so deep that even I'm envious of it."

"Shut up, Sakura." I took a gulp of tomato juice and could instantly feel myself calming down already. I tried not to show that on my face though. Knowing Sakura, she wouldn't stop teasing me about it if she noticed.

I walked towards my bed and took a seat while drinking my bottle of tomato juice. Just then, there was a notification from Sakura's phone, indicating that a message just entered. I didn't care at first, but upon reading her message, a wide grin appeared on Sakura's face and she was even giggling to herself.

As I watched Sakura's smiling like a fool as she typed on her phone, even the tomato juice wasn't helping me feel better. Something told me it was _that_ guy.

"Who are you texting?" I asked, trying to sound as casual as I could, not wanting to let Sakura know what I was really feeling.

"Since when did you become a busybody, Sasuke?" Sakura answered without removing her eyes from her phone, which made me even more pissed off than I was.

"Whatever." I mumbled under my breath angrily and Sakura didn't even bother to look at my way. It reminded me of the time Itachi said that I was always trying to get Sakura's attention.

I sternly told him that I was not Naruto so I wasn't desperate for Sakura's attention.

I just didn't like being ignored by her.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

It was clearly not wise to stay inside Sasuke's room for long. Just when I thought the tomato juice was calming him down, he went back acting like a woman on her heaviest day of the menstrual cycle or something worse than that.

I went back to my room to continue replying my massage to Gaara, who just informed me that he had the internship arranged for me already. I was so happy that I couldn't contain it within myself.

However, the hospital was rather far and I figured it would be inconvenient to travel back and forth during that one week of internship. I mentioned this problem to Gaara and he said he would help me find accommodation somewhere near the hospital. He said he would get back to me once he found a place.

I sighed contently and placed my phone on my night stand, thinking that I would inform Fugaku and Mikoto about it once everything was settled.

After locking the door, I went to my wardrobe to retrieve the _masterpiece_ I had been working on since Saturday.

It was the scarf I intended to give Sasuke as his birthday present.

Even though it was already the fourth day I had been working on the scarf, I was barely half done with it. Sasuke's birthday was on Saturday and I was running out of time.

One thing was for sure, knitting wasn't one of my talents.

Realizing that I needed to pick up my pace, I ended up hurting my hands. At first, I ignored it since the pain subsided soon enough. However, when it became almost unbearable, I had no choice but to get the first aid kit.

" _Knitting is almost as difficult as dealing with a rampaging Sasuke."_

After putting on some bandages, I went back to work. I abruptly stopped when I suddenly thought of Mikoto's request, which I had decided to deal with after Sasuke's birthday.

A familiar ache squeezed my heart a bit too painfully at the thought. I swallowed the lump forming inside my throat before trying to concentrate fully on the work at hand.

Looking down at the half-done scarf on my hands, I wondered if it was possible to help Sasuke celebrate his birthday every year until far into the future.

I pushed the thought aside when I realized how ridiculous I was to even think that way.

After all, in ten years or so, I wouldn't be the one by his side.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

Sakura had been weird for the past few days. Not only that, but she appeared to be unusually tired lately to the point that her eye bags were becoming apparent.

Judging from how sneaky she had been, she was definitely up to something. Moreover, she spent most of her time in her room and refused to spend time with me.

No words could describe how pissed off I was.

* * *

 _Flashback_

It was Thursday night and I had nothing to do after I was done with dinner. I decided to head over to Sakura's room, only to find that her room was locked.

"Who's there?" Sakura asked when she heard someone trying to open her door.

"It's me. What are you doing in there?" It was weird for Sakura to have her room locked. I didn't think she had that habit in the past.

"Nothing." I could hear certain hesitation in her voice, proving that she wasn't speaking the truth.

"Then let me in." I spoke in what Sakura often referred to as my 'demanding tone'.

"I'm busy." I narrowed my eyes at Sakura's respond.

"You just said you're doing nothing." I hissed in annoyance.

"I am busy now." Sakura was beginning to sound equally annoyed. I could feel a vein popping on my forehead and the fact that we were speaking with a door between us wasn't making things any better.

"What in the world are you busy with?" I asked, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

There was a suspicious silence before Sakura gave the most bizarre answer ever, "Studying."

"We just finished midterms, Haruno."

"Am I not allowed to study for the next term, Uchiha?"

"Whatever." I left when I could literally feel my blood boiling inside me.

If she wanted to keep whatever secret she had with her, then so be it.

 _End of Flashback_

* * *

And on Friday, I was still annoyed. I was annoyed that I had been annoyed a lot lately. Oh great, practically everything was annoying the crap out of me.

It was during lunch period at school that a bunch of girls came up to me and shove birthday presents towards me. At least some of some had the decency to place their presents on my desk instead of my face.

To be honest, I almost forgot that it was my birthday the next day.

I happened to find out from their whispers that they couldn't find Sakura anywhere so had no choice but to build up enough courage to approach me directly.

" _Just what is that girl up to?"_ I thought to myself as I absent mindedly place some boxes onto my desk, where a pile of present had already gathered.

"Do you need something to place those presents into?" I fixated my sight upwards and saw that the _considerate_ person was no other than Neji.

A grunt escaped as I rolled my eyes at Neji, who took his seat which happened to be right in front of mine.

"How are you going to celebrate your birthday?" Neji asked as he picked up a box from my desk and inspected it.

"You know I don't usually hold celebrations." I lazily picked up a box covered in a light blue wrapping paper and looked at it disinterestedly.

"Oh right, you only want to spend it with Sakura. I know she helps you celebrate your birthday every year."

"Hn." Sakura had been so suspicious lately that I wasn't sure if she was going to celebrate with me that year. I chose to not think about it though.

After all, the more I hoped, the deeper the disappointment at the end.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

It's pretty obvious that Sasuke was feeling irritated because I wasn't hanging out with him for the past few days. It wasn't like I had a choice.

There was still so much work left until the scarf was done so I had to burn the midnight candle to make sure I could finish it on time.

Seeing that I had already pissed Sasuke off, I might as well give him a surprise. I was sure he assumed I wasn't going to celebrate his birthday because I had been _ignoring_ him.

I would make it up to him with a somewhat unexpected annual birthday cake and the knitted scarf, which I managed to complete back at school. I knew Sasuke's fan girls would be frantically searching for me to pass to Sasuke their presents so I hid at the rooftop to finish my work.

When I got back home, I asked Itachi to help me by taking Sasuke out after dinner. I didn't want him to see me baking the cake. Much to my surprise, it wasn't so difficult to convince Itachi to agree to it.

So right after Itachi successfully took Sasuke out with him, I quickly headed over to the convenience store to buy all the ingredients I needed.

Just when I was done with the frosting of the cake, Mikoto entered the kitchen and gawked at the cake I baked.

"This is the most beautiful cake you made so far, Sakura!"

"Thank you, Mikoto-san!" I was proud of the result as well and must admit it looked better than the rest I made previously. It was a chocolate flavored cake, which, needless to say, was Sasuke's favorite. The frosting was also chocolate flavored and I added strawberries on the top. I also used vanilla butter cream frosting to complete the cake with several decorations.

And no matter how much Sasuke loved tomatoes, there was no way I would add them onto the cake.

"Sasuke is so lucky to have you as his best friend." Mikoto ruffled my hair lovingly but her words didn't feel the same.

" _How I wish I could be more than just best friends."_

Mikoto left the kitchen when she saw that it was already 11.30 PM. Once she left, I sighed heavily, letting go of the breath I had been unconsciously holding onto.

"Well, there's no point moping so pathetically." I muttered to myself as I carefully placed the cake onto my hands.

The plan was to place the cake in Sasuke's room and I would also hide in there along with his present. I never exactly done something like that but it was worth the try.

I just hope I wouldn't end up scaring the hell out of him.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

I had no idea what made Itachi decide to bring me out for an advanced birthday celebration.

He brought me to a jazz bar he once told me about. And when I thought that the two of us would just have a round or two of beer, two of our cousins, Obito and Shisui arrived. If those two were in the picture, I wouldn't get to go home that early.

That was how I ended up reaching home at 11.55 PM. Obito was so drunk that Shisui had to take care of him. Fortunately for Itachi and me, we were feeling fine and didn't need to deal with a drunken brother.

Once I got home, I went straight to my room. It was a minute to midnight and when I passed by Sakura's room, I wondered if she even remembered my birthday.

" _Why do I even care so much about that?"_ I ignored the somewhat foreign stabbing pain inside me and reached for the doorknob.

And I definitely didn't expect I would find Sakura inside my room, holding onto a cake with one lighted candle. In the midst of the darkness, her cheerful smile appeared to be illuminating.

"Happy birthday, Sasuke." Sakura was grinning from ear to ear and broke into laughter when she saw the look on my face. "You're more surprised than I thought you will be! I bet you assumed I forgot about your birthday."

I felt my face heating up and it wasn't because of the candle. At that moment, I felt stupid to have doubted Sakura. I had known her long enough to know that she wouldn't forget about my birthday.

"It's your fault for acting so cold lately." I muttered softly, still feeling embarrassed for acting like an upset child for the past few days.

Sakura's uproar got even louder and I felt my cheeks burning up even more. But I wasn't mad at all. Instead, I felt a strong kind of happiness swelling inside of me. I was glad the room was dark and Sakura couldn't really see the deep shade of red on my face.

"I don't mean to ignore you, Sasuke."

I was about to ask what she meant by that but Sakura insisted that I should blow the candle first.

"Remember to make a wish!"

I did as I was told and closed my eyes to make a wish. After I was done, I blew the candle out, causing the room to be engulfed in total darkness. The moonlight penetrating through the window was the only source of light left.

Still, Sakura managed to reach for the switch at ease and turned on the lights. I took the chance to appreciate the cake Sakura baked for me as I walked to the desk to place it there. I made a note to myself that it looked even better than all the ones she made before.

I brought my head up to thank Sakura but my breath was taken away when I saw what she was holding onto.

It was a dark blue knitted scarf.

"Even though I can't compare this to the branded scarves you own, I still hope you like it. And if you're wondering, yes, I'm the one who knitted this. I had been working on this for some time already and had to hide it from you. That's why I had been avoiding you lately." Sakura smiled sheepishly as she wrapped the knitted scarf around my neck. "It's doesn't look that bad on you."

As Sakura admired her work, I noticed the bandages she had around her fingers. I wasn't spending much time with her as of late so I didn't see her injured hands. And by then, it began to make more sense as to why Sakura seemed so exhausted recently.

I startled Sakura when I suddenly grabbed her hands into mine and gently touched the white bandages she had on herself.

"Don't worry about this. It's really nothing." Sakura reassured me with a wide grin which reminded me of Gai-sensei in a way. After finding out the reason why Sakura had been keeping things to herself for the past few days, I felt guilty for being upset.

"Why are you frowning?! Is my present that bad?" There was a pained look in Sakura's green eyes and I found myself hastily explaining how I really felt.

"No, I really like your present. I just feel bad that you had hurt your hands."

There was something Sakura mistakenly said earlier. The truth was that nothing I could buy in the stores would beat the scarf Sakura knitted specially for me. That day, I truly understood what it felt like to feel touched by someone's sincerity.

"You don't have to feel bad, Sasuke. It's just calluses. It's not like I got stabbed or anything." Sakura laughed lightly as she stared straight into my eyes.

I looked downwards at our hands, which was still holding onto one another. I gave Sakura's soft hands a light squeeze before facing upwards to look into her eyes once again.

"Thank you for everything, Sakura."

On my seventeenth birthday, it had become clear that Sakura was the best present I could ever have.

And that I had fallen in love with her.

* * *

Author's Note: Fortunately for all of us, Sasuke finally stopped denying his true feelings. Anyway, do look forward to the next chapters to see what happens next! As usual, please leave a review and share with me your thoughts on this fanfic. Suggestions are very welcomed as well. Keep up with the follows and favorites too! Thank you for reading, everyone!


	5. Forever and Always

Author's Note: A big thank you to everyone who sent in positive review! And I have edited a part of the previous chapter after reading the reviews from _Rui_ and a _Guest_ reviewer. Thanks again, guys! And to new readers and followers; welcome to this fanfic! (insert wide grin)

Chapter 5: Forever and Always

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

Even though it was my birthday, Naruto didn't spare me from his unbearable pushiness.

Naruto, Neji, Shikamaru and Kiba arrived at my home without telling me and forced me to go out with them. According to Naruto, I needed to be _normal_ for once and have fun on my birthday.

The only reason I agreed to go with them was to shut Naruto up. Neji and Shikamaru most probably agreed to play along for the same reason.

Naruto drove us to his favorite ramen restaurant, Ichiraku, which he said was the _best_ place for a birthday lunch. He was the only one who saw things that way but it wasn't like he cared to listen to our opinions. Moreover, none of us bothered to argue with the likes of Naruto.

"You seem to be in a good mood, Sasuke. Did anything happen last night?" Neji asked in the middle of the meal.

"He looks like same old Sasuke." Naruto spoke with his mouth full of ramen.

"You're too dumb to notice it, Naruto." Shikamaru's comment made Neji nod in agreement while Naruto complain furiously.

"Nothing in particular happened." If I were to tell them what happened last night, things would turn out chaotic. Neji and Shikamaru would tease me to no end while Kiba would laugh like a maniac. As for Naruto, I didn't even dare to imagine his reaction.

"Liar." Neji muttered under his breath while Shikamaru snickered. I sent a glare towards their way, silently telling them to drop the topic.

"Have you made a birthday wish?" Naruto grinned excitedly as he waited for me to answer.

"Hn." I responded after eating my last spoonful of ramen.

"What did you wish for?" Kiba asked with what seemed to be anticipation reflecting in his eyes.

I wasn't expecting that question but fortunately for me, I thought of an excuse to avoid answering. "The wish won't come true if I said it out loud."

"Since when are you so superstitious?" Naruto narrowed his eyes suspiciously at me, looking into my face as if searching for something unusual.

"It's just his excuse, Naruto. It's more believable if he said he's too embarrassed to tell us what he wished for." And of course, Neji just had to make things difficult for me. His words made Shikamaru very amused, much to my annoyance.

Naruto appeared thoughtful for a while before suddenly slamming the table a little too loudly, attracting much unwanted attention from other customers in Ichiraku. But before I could scold Naruto, he looked at me with a horrified expression and said the most ridiculous thing I had heard all day.

"Did you wish for something perverted, Sasuke?"

Kiba roared in laughter while Neji slapped a hand onto his forehead. Shikamaru muttered the word 'troublesome' as I continued staring at Naruto in disbelief.

"Seriously, I have always wondered what is in that brainless head of yours, Naruto." I shook my head as I voiced out my honest thoughts.

"Sasuke-teme!"

The rest of the meal was filled with Naruto's constant complains and Kiba's uncontrollable laughter. But at the end of it, I still refused to tell them what I wished for.

Neji was right; it wasn't because I was superstitious. It was just too embarrassing to say that I wished to be with Sakura until the end of time.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

It had been almost two hours since Sasuke left with the other guys when I received good news from Gaara. He had found an apartment I could stay in for a week during my internship. And now that everything was settled, I decided to inform Fugaku and Mikoto about it.

Apparently, Fugaku was out for a meeting so there was only Mikoto, who was watching TV in the living room.

When Mikoto noticed my presence, she smiled and I greeted her in return.

"What is it, Sakura?"

"There's something I need to discuss with you, Mikoto-san."

Mikoto motioned me over to her and asked me to take a seat beside her on the sofa. She looked at me in concern and I quickly assured her nothing was wrong.

"A friend of mine offered me a week-long internship at a hospital and I wish to ask for your permission."

"That sounds wonderful, Sakura! Of course I'll give you permission. I'm sure Fugaku will agree to it as well."

"Thank you, Mikoto-san!"

Seeing Mikoto being so supportive just encouraged me even more.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

When I got back home and passed by the living room, I heard Sakura and my mother talking about something. I hid behind a wall when I heard what it was about.

"You're going to live somewhere else?!" My mother sounded shocked and I could sense her disappointment. As for me, my heart literally skipped a beat before it began beating in an abnormally fast pace. Fear and anxiety rushed throughout my body as I listened to Sakura and my mother's conversation.

"Yes. I hope you'll permit me to do so, Mikoto-san." Hearing Sakura sounding so determined made my heart clenched painfully. My hands turned cold at the thought of Sakura leaving and I couldn't help but tremble slightly.

"Are you sure you'll be alright out there on your own?" I caught a glimpse of my mother brushing Sakura's pink hair as she voiced out her concern.

"Don't worry, Mikoto-san. I will be alright!" Excitement could be heard from Sakura's tone and it made me feel even more miserable. Was she so desperate to leave?

" _Do I really mean nothing to her?"_

At that moment, I was glad I didn't have to pass by the living room to get to my room.

* * *

The longer I spent in my room, the more agitated I became. My mind kept on wandering to places I wish it didn't. I hated how my head was filled with nothing but images of Sakura leaving for good.

Soon, I gave up trying to distract myself and ended up lying on my bed while staring at the ceiling. As I tried to calm down in futile, there was a knock on my door before someone entered.

It was no other than Sakura, who was humming as she walked into my room with a cup of tea.

"I heard from the butler that you have returned so I came to give you some tea." Sakura placed the cup of tea on the night stand, oblivious to the sour mood I was in. "By the way, I have something to tell you, Sasuke!"

Contrary to Sakura's cheerful smile, my insides were crushing as I managed to guess what she was about to say. To see her looking so happy to be leaving broke me apart. I couldn't believe she had been calling me heartless when she was the one who clearly lacked feelings.

I let my emotions took control of me and grabbed onto Sakura's wrist after getting off the bed. My action had clearly startled Sakura, who was staring at me in confusion.

"How could you be so mean?" I muttered as I looked onto the floor blankly.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura urged me to explain myself as she tried to escape from my grip.

I tightened my hand and shot a glare towards Sakura, "After all these years, how could you just move out so suddenly?"

"What?" Sakura stared at me as if I had just said the most absurd thing she had ever heard.

Ignoring the look she was giving me, I continued showing how I upset I was with her decision, "Does our friendship mean nothing to you? Why do you appear so happy to be leaving this place which you called your home for the past ten years? And to think you called me the heartless one. Y-"

"Hold your horses, Sasuke." Sakura finally managed to violently pull her hand away from mine and placed both of her hands onto my shoulders. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"I overheard your conversation with mother. You told her you're going to live somewhere else." I looked away from Sakura, not wanting her to see the pain I had in my eyes.

What fueled my anger next was Sakura's sudden outburst. She was clutching onto her stomach as she laughed her heart out.

"Why in the world are you laughing?" I glared at Sakura who was not even trying to control her uproar.

Sakura finally responded after calming down a little, "You misunderstood, Sasuke. I'm not moving out."

I stood as still as a stone, completely stunned with the whole situation. Sakura started another round of crazy laughter when she saw the look on my face before speaking again.

"A friend of mine offered me an internship opportunity at a hospital. It's far from here so it's more convenient if I stayed somewhere closer to the hospital. That's why I'm going to live outside for a week."

I felt so stupid I honestly thought I was on the same level as Naruto in terms of intelligence. Or worse, I might even be in a lower state than that.

Sakura managed to stop her hysterical laughter when she saw the deep shade of red coloring my face. She must have figured how embarrassed I was and decided to comfort me instead.

But somehow, it felt more like she was mocking me.

Sakura poked my heated cheek and peered at my face, "I'm not leaving unless you don't need me anymore. After all, who is going to handle your unbelievable demands if I'm gone?"

It didn't take long before Sakura broke into laughter again. But her words were more than enough to calm me down and I found myself smiling a little.

One thing was for sure, the day in which I didn't need Sakura anymore would never come.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

I know Sasuke was pissed off because I laughed too much but the sight of a blushing Sasuke was too much for me to handle.

"Who is this friend of yours?" Sasuke asked when he gave up trying to shut me up. He ended up embracing the fact that he did something embarrassing earlier.

"His name is Gaara, a student from Suna Academy." I answered as I headed towards the bed to sit beside Sasuke.

"Is it that guy with red hair who visited you at school a few days ago?"

"Yes, I didn't know you saw that." It was weird that Sasuke didn't mention anything about Gaara even though he had seen him. I guessed there wasn't any reason for him to care about it.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

For the thousandth time that day, I laughed at Sasuke's stupidity and highly inaccurate assumptions. And of course, I annoyed him all over again.

I placed a hand over Sasuke's forehead, pretending to check if he was feeling alright, "You're saying a lot of stupid things today, Sasuke. Did turning seventeen made you dumber?"

Sasuke slapped my hand away and turned his slightly flushed face away from me, all the while grumbling about something I couldn't really make out.

I cleared my throat to stop my laughter streak and explained to Sasuke how I met Gaara.

"He's not my boyfriend. Do you remember how I was late from the convenience store on Sunday and you're about to start one of your chocolate-deprived rampages?" Sasuke glared at me for my indirect insult but I pretended to not notice it and continued speaking instead. "And I told you I met a sick person who collapsed at the convenience store so I brought him to the hospital, right? That person is Gaara. He offered me an internship at his family's hospital as a way of thanking me."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at me, as if trying to check if I was speaking the truth. I rolled my eyes and groaned at how dubious Sasuke was.

"You're the same as Itachi, jumping to conclusions without knowing the whole story first. He asked the exact same thing a while ago! The Uchiha brothers are so alike in so many ways that it is becoming rather creepy."

"Hn."

I wasn't sure what Sasuke's wordless grunt meant exactly but I assumed he wanted to end the conversation. He did humiliate himself enough times that day to last him for the rest of the year.

Wanting to spare Sasuke from further embarrassment, I decided to change the topic.

"By the way, Ino asked us if we wanted to go to the new amusement park tomorrow. The other guys will be there too. Do you want to come along?"

"Sure."

A sighed in relief when Sasuke agreed to go. After all, I planned to find a chance to fulfill Mikoto's request.

Even though it was going to hurt, after all Mikoto had done for me, I just couldn't ignore what she asked me to do for her.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

"You look like you're at loss, Sasuke."

I raised an eyebrow at Shikamaru, who was sitting beside me on one of the benches at the amusement park. It had been an hour since we arrived and most of us somehow went separate ways.

I wasn't even sure how I ended up getting stuck with Shikamaru while the others were out of sight.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I crossed my arms in front of me as I stared at the roller coaster in front of me.

Did I look _that_ troubled to the point that Shikamaru actually bothered to speak?

"Don't be a drag and just speak up your mind. Your thoughts are so disturbingly noisy."

I wasn't quite sure what Shikamaru meant by that but after a few moments of considering; I decided to ask Shikamaru the question I had been wrecking my brain for.

"How do you know if a girl likes you or not?"

Shikamaru's reaction was beyond my expectation; he laughed.

The infamous lazy ass Shikamaru Nara, who found it troublesome to even open his eyes during class, actually used his energy to laugh.

If I weren't shocked at the sight of a laughing Shikamaru, I would have beaten him into a pulp for laughing.

Why had I made a fool out of myself so often lately?

"Since when did Neji and I become your love consultants, Uchiha?"

The only reason I didn't give Shikamaru a piece of my mind was the fact that I actually needed help.

"I'll tell you on the account of how pathetic you are." Shikamaru paused to give my question some thoughts before answering. "If a girl likes a guy, she will freak out whenever he is with another girl. She might even turn violent whenever she is jealous. And she will tend to get or even act like a spoilt child sometimes. I guess she will always try to get your attention almost all the time."

Shikamaru yawned after he was done and mumbled something about me being troublesome for making him speak too much.

"Are you describing Ino?"

Shikamaru sniggered at my bluntness before responding, "Is it that obvious? Anyway, that's how I see it. Different girls have different ways of expressing things so what applies to Ino might not apply to Sakura."

It depressed me a little when I couldn't see the things Shikamaru said in Sakura. But with the big difference in personality between Sakura and Ino, Shikamaru might be right when he said they might express themselves differently.

I guessed it wouldn't hurt to hold onto the little bit of hope I had.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

"Look what you did, Naruto!" Ino yelled at the top of her lungs and began scolding Naruto for the not-so-grave mistake he made.

"All I did was tapping her on the shoulder!" Naruto defended himself with what I saw was a reason that made a whole lot sense.

Naruto had caused Hinata to faint yet again and I wasn't even surprised anymore. It was unbelievable how clueless he was regarding Hinata's much too obvious feelings for him. Of course, a mere tap on the shoulder was enough to knock Hinata out of consciousness.

I was only with Ino, Hinata and Naruto that time and I was looking around to find a place to rest the unconscious Hinata.

There was a mixture of relief and sadness when I spotted Sasuke with Shikamaru on a nearby bench. I knew it was the best chance to bring Sasuke and Hinata together but I would be lying if I said I did it willingly.

" _It's now or never."_

Leaving Ino and Naruto who were still in a middle of an argument which I didn't find a need to take part in, I carried Hinata on my back and walked towards Sasuke and Shikamaru.

"Did Naruto made her faint again? So troublesome."

At one glance, Shikamaru accurately guessed what happened and stood up to give his seat to Hinata. Sasuke did the same to give Hinata more space to breath.

Looking back between Sasuke and the still unconscious Hinata, I suddenly thought of an idea to give them the chance to be alone.

"Shikamaru, Ino and Naruto are in the middle of a heated argument, can you help me stop them?"

"What a bunch of troublesome idiots." Shikamaru grumbled under his breath as he followed me to where Ino and Naruto were. Before I was too far away, I turned my head over my shoulder to face Sasuke.

"Take good care of Hinata, Sasuke."

And I had to walk away before the pain became too unbearable.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

" _This is more awkward than receiving sex education from Kakashi."_

Hinata yelped when she realized that she was sharing a bench with me. I could see that she was trembling slightly as she tried to say something.

But at the end, she couldn't even find her own voice and a tense silence enveloped us.

" _I can't believe our fathers actually considered getting us together. It is simply impossible between us. Moreover, she's hopelessly in love with Naruto. And as for me, well, there's Sakura."_

I stared at the far end, mentally begging to find a familiar face somewhere out there. Despite the fact that I enjoyed silence, the awkwardness with Hinata was beyond what I could stand.

"Are you feeling fine already?"

Hinata jumped in her seat much too obviously upon hearing my voice while I stayed as indifferent as usual.

"Y-Yes." Hinata was stuttering so badly that I wasn't sure if she was indeed alright. But I couldn't find the will to start a conversation and I chose to go back to the dreadful atmosphere we were in.

I never felt so happy to caught sight of Shikamaru, who was heading our way. He rested his arms at the back of his head while allowing a yawn to escape.

"Where are the others?" I asked when Shikamaru was close enough already.

"They went into the haunted house." Shikamaru answered as he pointed towards the direction of the haunted house.

"Sakura went in too?" Shikamaru seemed confused as to why I sounded concerned.

Shikamaru nodded, "She went in with Ino, Naruto and Kiba."

Without another word, I left in a hurry to where Sakura was and left much confused Shikamaru and Hinata behind.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

There was nothing I was scared more of compared to haunted houses.

And I blamed it on my pride to have landed me right into one.

When Kiba suggested going into a haunted house, Naruto and Ino were extremely enthusiastic about it. Seeing how excited they were, I felt ashamed to admit I was scared out of my wits.

"This place is spookier than I thought." Naruto commented much too casually while I was practically trembling in the middle of the darkness.

It was so dark that I couldn't even see my friends' faces clearly and the ghostly sounds surrounding the place weren't helping me calm down.

I was shutting my eyes tightly as I blindly followed the others around the place. I would tense up whenever I heard someone's frantic scream.

When things had become quiet for once, I slowly opened my eyes only to totally freak out when I saw that none of my friends were with me.

"Ino, where are you?! Naruto? Kiba? This is not funny, guys!"

All my eyes could see was spider webs and blood stained walls. And at the corner of my eyes, I saw what seemed to be a woman with messy long hair in a long white dress that reached the ground.

I could no longer stand the fear swelling inside me and broke down with a piercing scream. I closed my ears with my hands and closed my eyes again. My knees were growing weak and I could feel tears forming in my eyes. My whole body was trembling as I sobbed like a pathetic little girl.

"Sakura!"

My eyes shot open when I heard an all too familiar voice calling out my name. I turned around to see for myself whether that person was indeed who I thought it was. And even in pitch darkness, I could make out his features which I had already memorized at the back of my mind.

My voice was stuck in my throat as more tears fell down to my already drenched cheeks. I felt weak from all the shouting and trembling that I couldn't even more an inch. But I felt protected immediately when a pair of arms pulled me into a warm embrace.

"It's okay now. I'm here."

" _Sasuke."_

I sobbed onto Sasuke's chest as he gently rubbed my hair to comfort me. To be able to feel Sasuke's warmth at such close proximity made my heart thump uncontrollably. Soon enough, I was no longer sobbing and my tears began to dry out. I even almost forgot that I was inside one of the places I hated most in my life.

"Don't worry, Sakura. I'll always be here for you."

And how I wished I could bring myself to be selfish enough to make that come true.

* * *

Author's Note: In the next chapter, we shall see how Sasuke will feel to be separated from Sakura for once in ten years. (insert evil laughter) Anyway, please leave a review and tell me what you think. Reviews make me super duper happy! Also, do keep up with the follows and favorites! Thank you for reading, everyone.


	6. A Hopeful Kiss

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the positive reviews, everyone! I actually got the haunted house idea from my own experience. Every time I will enter a haunted house, I will freak out so much I will always be on the verge of crying. And horror movies scare the crap out of me! (I watched quite a lot of them though) Anyway, I wish to thank new readers as well! Welcome aboard, everyone.

Chapter 6: A Hopeful Kiss

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

Sasuke's warmth and gentleness from that day were still lingering on my skin. His tender words would echo throughout my mind, reminding me of how protected I felt at that moment.

Sasuke was considerate enough to hold onto me until I finally calmed down. And knowing that I would be embarrassed if the others knew what happened, Sasuke didn't breathe a single word about it once we left the haunted house.

Even though Sasuke and I didn't talk about our interaction back in there, I didn't forget any of the emotions I felt during our brief and yet memorable moment.

And on Sunday, which was the day I would move in to my temporary apartment, Sasuke insisted on driving me there.

"You really don't have to do this, Sasuke."

"This is a never-ending conversation, Sakura. Just accept the fact that I'm going to give you a ride."

There was nothing I could do to change Sasuke's mind so I followed him to where his car was. There was something different about Sasuke but I couldn't really put it into words. Although he was often arrogant and annoying, he had always been nice to me. But he suddenly became unusually caring and I sensed something suspicious.

Not only did Sasuke help me with my luggage, he even opened the passenger's door for me.

Throughout the ride to my new place, I was staring at Sasuke, trying to find the cause of his abnormality. But Sasuke's emotionless face made my efforts absolutely futile.

The apartment Gaara found for me was in a fancy looking building. One look at it and I knew how expensive it must be. I had insisted on paying the rent but Gaara was persistent in covering it. For someone who didn't talk much, he was very persuasive.

Sasuke helped me with my luggage yet again and I followed his every movement closely. I was still clueless as to what was going on in that mind of his but I didn't ask him anything. The two of us just walked to the lobby in silence.

Gaara was already there when we reached the beautifully decorated lobby. He looked as charming as ever in a simple red polo shirt and a pair of jeans. I increased my pace when we made eye contact and I greeted him with a genuinely excited smile.

"Hello." I started casually before grinning sheepishly at Gaara. "I still don't know how to thank you enough."

"This is all my pleasure." Gaara returned a gentle smile, which I didn't expect he could manage when I first spoke to him. When I caught Gaara glancing over at Sasuke who was standing beside me, I introduced the two of them to each other.

I had told Gaara about Sasuke on the day he came to our school to find me so there was actually another reason why Gaara seemed confused when he saw Sasuke.

It was the fact that Sasuke was glaring at him as if he was planning to kill with his deadly gaze alone.

Even I, who had known Sasuke for a very long time, couldn't begin to comprehend Sasuke's bizarre behavior. I discreetly pinched Sasuke's back as a way to make him stop attempting to murder Gaara with his much too obvious pissed off stare.

"Let's check out the apartment now, shall we?" I quickly changed the topic before Gaara could say or question anything.

" _I need to talk to Sasuke later on."_

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

I was perfectly aware that I was being childish but I just couldn't stop my stupid self.

When I saw how happy Sakura seemed to be when she was talking to that red haired guy, something snapped inside me. It frustrated me that a simple conversation between those two was enough to cause me to be in the state I was in.

It appeared that I wasn't as _controlled_ as I thought I was.

The apartment Sakura would be staying in was definitely worthy to be praised. Besides one bedroom and an equipped kitchen, the living room was spacious and was completed with a large plasma TV.

Needless to say, Sakura felt bad for Gaara who was still against having Sakura to pay the rent. Sakura groaned in utter defeat before thanking Gaara all over again.

I was beyond relieved when Gaara said he needed to go because he had something to attend to. To be honest, I was guilty for acting so hostile towards him when we just met. My mind was saying that there was nothing between him and Sakura but my stubborn heart said otherwise.

Gaara left the apartment after giving Sakura the address of the hospital she would be working at starting on the next day. And I wasn't sure whether I should feel bad or glad when I noticed the small smile Gaara gave me before he closed the door behind him.

Once the door was shut, my attention was demanded by Sakura who cleared her throat in annoyance. I knew what lied ahead of me and mentally prepared myself for it.

"What in the world is wrong with you today, Sasuke?"

Staying silent was definitely not a choice for me but I wasn't sure what I should say. Telling Sakura I was jealous would not only sound ridiculous but it would also make me look like an idiot. And I really didn't want that to happen.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at me as she impatiently tapped her right foot onto the floor. I mentally scolded myself for the mess I placed myself in before giving an answer which I hoped made sense at the very least.

"I was just worried he might have an ulterior motive by being so nice to you."

And as expected, Sakura looked at me as if I had grown a third eye or something. I knew how dumb I had sounded but it was still better than my actual reason.

Sakura slapped her forehead before rolling her eyes at me. She placed her hands on either side of her hips as she glared at me intently.

"Do you remember what happened to the guy who tried to take advantage of me last year?"

I remembered exactly what Sakura was referring to. The two of us were in a mall a year ago to get my mother a birthday present when Sakura encountered a pervert. I left her to go to the bathroom and when I returned to where Sakura was, she was already beating that guy into a pulp.

"Of course I remember. If I didn't stop you in time, you might actually break his skull."

"See, I am totally capable in protecting myself. And this is Gaara we're talking about. He's a friend and I assure you that there is nothing to be worried of."

"Hn." Even though I only met Gaara once, I knew he wasn't the type of person I should be worried about. I was just desperately in need of an excuse for my senseless behavior.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

" _I'm freaking nervous and I'm not even sure why."_

The hospital was ten minutes away from the apartment I was staying in and I must say it lived up to its name in being one of the best hospitals in Tokyo. Everything inside seemed very professional and everyone had that knowledgeable aura around them.

I guessed that was the reason behind my fidgety self.

I swore I was beyond relieved when I found Gaara in front of the reception desk. It was easy to feel out of place there and seeing someone I actually know helped me calmed down a lot.

There was a woman beside Gaara, whose blonde hair was tied into two low ponytails. Not only was she beautiful, she had a figure most women would be envious of. As for her age, I couldn't really guess.

"Welcome, Sakura. Let me introduce your supervisor for this internship." Gaara glanced over at the woman I had been admiring before continuing. "Her name is Tsunade and she is the best doctor we have here. I'm sure you will learn a lot from her."

My eyes felt like they were sparkling as I stared at Gaara and my supervisor who turned out to be even more amazing than I initially thought. I had to restrain myself from screaming in excitement and bowed way too enthusiastically instead.

"Thank you so much for this!"

Tsunade seemed happy with how passionate I was and had a wide smile as she spoke.

"I won't go easy on you, Sakura."

And I was wondering if it was weird of me to feel even more determined when I heard Tsunade's words.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

"Stop being so pathetic, Sasuke."

"Can you just shut your trap, Neji?"

"It's only been a day that you have not seen her and you're already so depressed. I didn't know you're so weak."

"You need to keep your mouth shut as well, Shikamaru."

It was weird not having Sakura around back at home on Sunday. It wasn't like Sakura was noisy all the time but the house felt empty without her.

I wanted to visit her on Monday after she was done for the day but I didn't want her to realize I already missed her even though it was barely a day since we last saw each other. Then on Tuesday, I started to miss her even more to the point that I couldn't really think straight anymore.

It was very unlikely of me but I ended up asking Neji and Shikamaru out for an afternoon tea. I was badly in need of a distraction from my trains of never ending thoughts about Sakura.

But I should have known it was a bad idea.

Those two were too smart to not understand what was going on. Of course, they jumped at the chance to tease me.

"Why don't you just let us help you with that late confession of yours? You don't seem very competent when it comes to stuffs like this." Neji smirked smugly at me and took a sip of warm tea.

I was too prideful to admit my weakness and rejected my friend's _generous_ offer.

"I don't need help."

Shikamaru snorted while Neji simply shook his head and sighed. They had obviously seen through my lie and for once, I actually hoped they were as clueless as Naruto.

But that would never happen, wouldn't it?

"If you miss her, go and visit her. It's as simple as that."

I considered Neji's words in silence as I stared at my cup of tea. It was like choosing between my pride and my feelings.

And I must say I was surprised at my own decision.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

Tsunade was ruthless and that wasn't an exaggeration.

However, I had learned so much from her that I didn't mind her strict and demanding way of teaching me. I was on the verge of exploding from happiness when Tsunade said I had high potential to become a great doctor in the future.

She would definitely scold me if I were to yell in the hospital so I was glad I managed to control myself.

It was 6 PM when I was walking back to the apartment and I was suddenly reminded of the conversation I had with Ino over the phone last night.

She asked me if I missed Sasuke and I became speechless. In all honestly, I missed him the second he left the apartment on Sunday. But it was too embarrassing and stupid for me to admit that.

It simply did not make sense for me to be missing him considering the short amount of time we didn't see each other. We weren't even separated by seas or continents.

Sadly, no matter how much I tried to convince myself with logic, my heart won over it by the end of the day.

So, yes, I missed him but I couldn't bring myself to say the truth to Ino. I knew she would scream right into her phone and break my eardrums if I told her.

For the sake of my well-being and Ino's poor throat, I lied. But of course, that didn't change the fact that I wanted to meet Sasuke.

I was consumed by loneliness for the rest of my walk back to the apartment and I stared blankly at the ground underneath me. My heart was aching as I began to notice how badly I missed Sasuke. Everything still didn't make sense to me and I hated how I couldn't convince my emotions with logic.

Those thoughts were pushed away in an instant when I saw Sasuke leaning against the wall beside the door to the apartment. I blinked several times, as if trying to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. My insides were turned into a big mess when I confirmed Sasuke was indeed standing right in front of me.

"What are you doing here?" My voice came out weaker than I wanted it to and the surprise I felt was too obvious for my liking. Sasuke didn't seem to care about that, however, because he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.

Sasuke held up his right hand, showing me the plastic bag I had not noticed he was holding onto. There wasn't anything printed on the bag so I wasn't sure what it was.

Sasuke spoke before I could ask anything though.

"I assume you haven't had dinner yet so I went to buy some of your favorite sushi. And I also got you the chocolate pudding you have been craving for."

I was at a loss for words. To say that I was touched felt so much like an understatement. I wasn't sure what truly touched me though. Was it the fact that Sasuke actually had me in his mind? Or was it because Sasuke actually went to two separate places which were considerably far from each other to get my favorite foods? I gave up trying to choose and decide that both reasons played a huge part in creating the strong feelings inside of me.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and waved his hand in front of me to gain my attention. I blushed deeply when I realized I had been staring at him. I hastily reached for the key to the apartment inside my bag and opened the door with slightly shaky hands.

After we were both inside and the door was closed, I abruptly turned towards Sasuke and was glad I didn't stutter from saying a simple word.

"Thanks."

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

It took all the fragments of self control I had in me to not pull Sakura into an embrace when I finally got to meet her.

She looked worn out but that only meant she had been working hard. I definitely didn't regret driving long distances to get her favorite food and dessert. The adorable smile she had on her face as she thanked me made everything worth it.

Knowing that I would seem like a creep if I would stare at Sakura as she ate, I turned away and was aimlessly staring at the wall. When I secretly glance over at her, I noticed the light shade of pink on her cheeks and the apparent smile she had. I made me curious with what she had on her mind but I returned to my _interesting_ interaction with the wall instead.

"Do you want some, Sasuke?"

I turned away from the _attractive_ beige wall and faced Sakura who was holding onto a spoonful of chocolate pudding. Without giving it much thought, I took the spoon into my mouth and saw Sakura's blush deepened almost immediately.

I guessed Sakura expected me to feed myself but I didn't exactly regret what I did. After all, a blushing Sakura was actually very adorable.

Obviously nervous, Sakura changed the topic in a failed attempt to cover up how flustered she was.

"I'll go get you a drink."

Sakura stood up way too fast and ended up bumping onto the table. She lost her balance and was about to hit the floor but I managed to catch her just in time. I had my arms around her waist and carefully pulled her up to her feet.

Sakura slowly opened her eyes when the expected contact with the floor wasn't felt. Her eyes shot wide opened when she saw the very small distance between our faces. Her face grew red and I could feel her breath on my almost equally heated face.

Neither of us moved an inch and was just staring into each other's eyes. There was something behind the green eyes I grew to love and something told me it reflected my own feelings.

I slowly closed the gap between us despite not knowing whether I was doing the right thing or not. But my feelings for Sakura ruled over all my rational thoughts and I continued moving until there was no longer a distance between us.

A sparking sensation flowed through my body as I felt Sakura's soft lips on mine. Everything felt surreal and I actually thought I might be dreaming. But the warmth I felt in my arms proved that everything was as real as I hoped it was.

It was then when I realized that I wanted more and I had unconsciously tightened my grip around Sakura. My logical self returned earlier than I wanted it to and I pulled away in an instant.

I took a moment to look at Sakura's speechless and confused expression before muttering an apology as I turned away.

"I'm sorry."

I felt guilty and was worried I might have hurt Sakura. I did something absolutely selfish and my heart was thumping like mad against my chest. When the thought of possibly losing Sakura crossed my mind, I began to hate myself for doing something without thinking it through.

"It's fine."

I could sense pain behind Sakura's voice and my heart clenched uncomfortably upon hearing it. I was about to say something to comfort Sakura when my phone suddenly rang.

Half of me was glad about the sudden call while the other half was slightly annoyed about getting interrupted. I looked at the screen and saw that it was Itachi calling.

I picked up the call and hoped that brother of mine had something important to say.

"What is it?" I wasn't even trying to hide my annoyance towards Itachi, who must have realized he called at the wrong time. But of course, that didn't stop him from continuing the call.

"Father wants to speak to you."

"Hn." I hung up without waiting for another reply from Itachi. I awkwardly turned back to face Sakura after putting my phone into my pocket.

"My father has something to say to me." I found it difficult to look into Sakura's eyes and kept on glancing away from them.

"You better get going then." Sakura forced a smile which was too painful for me to see.

Not knowing what else to say, I turned around and walked away, still hating myself for hurting the woman I loved.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

" _What just happened?"_

After Sasuke left, I placed a hand over my mouth and thought back to the earlier event. I slumped onto the floor as I tried to figure out my feelings.

It was painful to see Sasuke looking indifferent as he apologized for what he did. It was as if what had happened didn't mean anything to him other than a spur of the moment thing.

But then again, it was never easy to read what Sasuke had in mind.

I bit my lower lip as I tried to stop tears from falling as my mind wandered deeper. I began to worry that our friendship might be strained from then onwards. I wasn't even sure why I wasn't mad at the slightest. Perhaps I was too confused and scared to feel any anger at all.

Our brief interaction made one thing clear to me. My feelings for Sasuke ran deeper than I thought and I honestly wanted to be more than just best friends.

I knew I had always been telling myself it was impossible for that to happen and that Sasuke saw me nothing more than just his best friend. And the difference between our backgrounds made things seem even more unreachable.

But did Sasuke really felt nothing when we kissed? Was I allowed to believe there was actually a chance that Sasuke might love me back?

Then I became depressed all over again when another question popped up in my mind.

If he truly did love me back, could we be happy together at the end?

* * *

Author's Note: My summer vacation has ended and classes are starting on Monday. (insert sobs and frowns) So I will most probably take more time to update new chapters. But I promise I will write as much as I can. Your support will be very much appreciated! Please leave a review before you leave. Your opinions mean a whole lot to me. Suggestions are welcomed too! Follows and favorites make this writer very happy as well. Thank you for reading and have a nice day!


	7. Complication

Author's Note: Classes have resumed and soon I will be back to my busy routines. I'm sad to say that I will have lesser time to write. But don't worry, I will write as much as I can! Your support and patience mean a whole lot to me! Not to mention the wonderful reviews I received for this fanfic. That is why I want to thank all readers and followers of this fanfic. Thank you so much!

Chapter 7: Complication

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

After what I did to Sakura, I felt like an even bigger idiot than Naruto.

As I drove away from Sakura's apartment, I couldn't help it but constantly scolding myself for my own stupidity. I, Sasuke Uchiha, was supposed to be a calm and controlled person. And there I was, doing something simply unthinkable and unforgivable.

When I got inside my house, I walked passed Itachi who was sitting on the sofa of the living room. Not trusting myself to be able to speak to Itachi without showing how troubled I was, I planned to just pretend he didn't exist.

But luck was definitely not on my side because Itachi just had to call out my name.

"Sasuke." I groaned under my breath before turning around to face my brother. When I saw Itachi raising an eyebrow, I knew he had seen through me. "You don't look so good. Did something happen?"

"Nothing." I tried to sound as indifferent as I could but was annoyed when I allowed my voice to betray me.

Itachi stood up from his seat and took a few steps towards me, all the while observing me as if I was some sort of rare species.

"There is really no point in trying to fool me, Sasuke."

I grunted in annoyance without bothering to cover up how bad my mood was. Without another word, I turned away from Itachi and headed towards my father's study room.

Although it wasn't very clear, I could hear a soft sigh from Itachi as I walked away.

"What is it, father?" At least I wasn't dumb enough to act rude in front of my father even though I wasn't really in the mood to act nice and all that.

I was sitting on the chair in front of my father's desk, waiting for him to say something. He was being unusually hesitant which gave me a bad feeling about what he was about to say.

"I'll just cut to the chase." My father's earlier hesitant was replaced with something sterner as he started talking. "Do you remember what we discussed when we had lunch with Hiashi and his nephew?"

I knew it wasn't about anything good. I had a clear idea as to what my father was referring to but I chose to be ignorant instead.

"We talked about Japan's economy and how some of the new laws being passed are putting our corporations at a disadvantage."

My father narrowed his eyes at me. It was obvious that he knew I was pretending to not know what he was talking about.

"I am glad you have interest in business and politics, Sasuke. But that is not what I wish to talk to you about today."

I didn't respond and just stared at my father, not very enthusiastic in listening to what he was about to say next.

My father sighed when he noticed my apparent disinterest but continued speaking anyways.

"I want to discuss with you about your relationship with Hinata."

"Which does not even exist in the first place and never will." I snapped much too quickly and I was aware how rude I was. But not only was I in a foul mood, the topic of our conversation was one of my least favorite.

"You do know how much benefit it will bring to our company, don't you?" I was beginning to get on my father's nerve but I wasn't planning on allowing him to force me to do something against my wish.

"I know but I am still against this arrangement." I made myself as clear as I could so that my father would know just how much I hated the whole thing. But knowing my father, he wouldn't let the matters rest that easily.

"I'm sure you'll eventually change your mind once you get to know Hinata better." I was about to argue back again but my father raised his hand, not giving me the chance to do so. "Hiashi and I have arranged a dinner between you and Hinata tomorrow."

"I'm not going." I emphasized each word with anger in my tone. I narrowed my eyes to show my displeasure with what was decided without my consent.

"You are going and you can do nothing to change that." My father glared fiercely at me and if it weren't for my anger and annoyance, I would have flinched under his intimidating gaze.

Knowing that there was indeed nothing I could do to save myself from the situation I was in, I stood up and stormed out of the room.

* * *

 **Itachi's POV**

Eavesdropping was definitely not something I did often but after seeing how bad Sasuke's mood was, I just had to make sure things wouldn't go out of hand.

I knew what our father was planning to say to Sasuke and it was obvious that younger brother of mine would erupt in anger. He never liked the idea of being forced to do something he didn't want and forcing him to be in a relationship he didn't choose would definitely push him towards his limit.

I stayed out of Sasuke's sight when he literally slammed the door open. Things actually ended better than I had expected and I found myself sighing in relief. At least Sasuke didn't continue that meaningless argument. After all, he would need to do what father said at the end. Our father had an unmatchable persuasive skill that even I had grown to dislike.

After Sasuke had disappeared in the direction of his room, I walked over to my father's study room and knocked on the door. When I entered, my father was massaging his temples, trying to relief some stress that had been building up inside him.

"What is it?" My father's voice was strained and I could see how exhausted he was.

"Is it really necessary to force Sasuke in a relationship he doesn't want?"

My father glared at me for the question I just asked. However, his anger subsided faster than I had expected and a distressed sigh escaped from him.

"You know I don't have much of a choice, Itachi." My father leaned against his chair with his eyes closed. "Business hasn't been going very well these days and I need the Hyuuga Corporation's full support to improve the situation."

"The relationship between us and the Hyuuga Corporation is backed by so many legal contracts. Aren't those enough?" I was clearly aware that things had not been very ideal for the past few months in the Uchiha Corporation and Hyuuga Corporation's support would fix things for us.

I always know what was going on in the company because I often went to help out and father would tell me things. On the other hand, father never exactly tells Sasuke much. I wasn't really sure why but father did mention something about Sasuke not being mature enough.

"Don't be naïve, Itachi. Contracts will one day expire while a relationship doesn't. It won't be long before Hiashi will find out that our company is not doing very well right now. And from what I understand about him, he will definitely put an end to our partnership."

"Will he really do that even though we have been partners for almost twenty years?" I felt like my father was worrying too much and still believed that forcing Sasuke to do something that would affect his future forever was unnecessary.

"Trust me, Itachi. I know Hiashi long enough to know he will do that." The confidence in my father's voice gave me a bad feeling. I stared on the floor, feeling useless for not being able to think of a way to save my own younger brother.

"But will a loveless relationship help you achieve what you want?"

There were moments of silence as my father thought of a way to answer my question. Even though I understood why my father had to put Sasuke in an undesirable situation, I doubted such a relationship would last.

From how I saw it, that relationship might actually be more vulnerable than the contracts we had.

"That's why I need to find a way to quickly finalize the engagement. I'm sure Hiashi will agree to it. An engagement between our families will also bring benefits to him."

I stared at my father in disbelief. I was beginning to doubt I had heard him right.

"Sasuke is just seventeen years old, father."

"I don't see any problems with that. It's not like I'm asking him to get married. It's just an engagement."

"But it-"

"Enough, Itachi." My father's sudden raise of voice made me tense up unwillingly. The stern way he was staring at me was a sign for me to stop talking back.

I could see that my father didn't really want to force Sasuke that way. But at the same time, he knew it was the best choice in his hands as of then.

After I excused myself and left the study room, a thought lingered in my mind.

" _I must do something to prevent this engagement from happening."_

After all, I knew there was already someone in my foolish brother's heart.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

After what happened with Sasuke, I couldn't sleep that night.

I managed to catch an hour or two of sleep because I grew very tired of tossing and turning on my bed. Needless to say, I was energy deprived the next day during work.

However, I wasn't planning to use that as an excuse to not bring out the very best I could. It was obvious that Tsunade noticed that I wasn't in my top shape but I was glad she chose to not ask me about it. Hence, I wasn't going to disappoint her by doing things half-heartedly.

Gaara came to visit in the afternoon and asked me out for lunch. And even though I tried to hide my real feelings, he seemed to have seen through me. In the middle of our meal, much to my surprise, he decided to ask me about it.

"Is something wrong?"

I stopped blankly stirring my juice and looked up at Gaara, who looked back with seriousness in his eyes. I knew there wasn't any point in lying to him and said everything was perfectly fine.

But I really wasn't sure how to start telling him my problem. I needed someone to talk to and I planned to look for Ino after I was done with work that day. However, seeing how sincere and willing Gaara was in becoming my listening ear, I ended up telling him what had been bothering me for quite some time already.

Gaara patiently listened to me in silence as I told him what had been going on lately. I wasn't even sure why I felt so comfortable telling him everything. He was the only person besides Ino whom I had ever talked to about my feelings for Sasuke.

I still couldn't bring myself to tell him about the kiss from the day before though. All I told him was how I believed it was an impossible relationship and that we could never be together.

Even though Sasuke liked me back, which I still believed it was very much unlikely; it was just not possible considering the difference in our backgrounds.

I chose to be realistic rather than blindly putting hope into something which would result in an unbearable heartache.

"From the way he looks at you, it's obvious that he likes you too."

Hearing Gaara saying something Ino had always been trying to tell me felt different for some reason. Perhaps it sounded more believable when a guy said it. Or maybe I had just been waiting for someone else besides Ino to convince me.

That was why I hated thinking about anything related to feelings. They were all just way too complicated and I could never really comprehend the whole situation without wrecking my brain.

"But, like I said, even if he likes me back, it is just impossible."

I took a sip of juice, hoping that it would help ease the ache clenching onto my heart. Gaara was taking some time to think, which actually made me nervous. I was worried and rather scared to hear what he had to say.

"I think it isn't fair for him that you are deciding the fate of the relationship between the two of you. Doesn't he also have the right to decide whether or not the relationship is possible or not?"

Gaara's words sent a stinging pain stabbing through me. But it wasn't an offending kind of pain. Instead, it felt like that shock you received when you suddenly realized something you had been overlooking for a long time.

As I stared back into Gaara's eyes, memories of Sasuke and I for the past years came flooding through my mind. I suddenly remembered the first time I saw Sasuke smile and it ended up making me smile to myself. That was the day I said that I wanted to see that side of him even more often.

Did I really want to let go of the person I truly loved?

"What I'm saying is, you should tell him how you really feel and let him decide what he wants to do."

Gaara made me see things in a different perspective and I could never thank him enough for that. I realized that I had always been analyzing the whole situation from my own point of view but I never considered what Sasuke wanted.

If Ino and Gaara were right when they said Sasuke had feelings for me, would Sasuke fight for our relationship?

Gaara must have found a way to read my mind or something because he had been answering questions I had in mind.

"You'll never know how he thinks unless you tell him the truth."

Not long ago, everything seemed like a big pile of mess which appeared to be utterly unorganized. But when Ino and Gaara's words slowly came together and fit each other perfectly, things began to seem much clearer and more understandable.

And once again, I felt like meeting Gaara was indeed a true blessing I could never imagine I would have.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

"Look, I know you don't want this too."

Going straight to the point right after arriving at the restaurant for dinner might seem rather rude in a way but I wasn't going to beat around the bush. Hinata looked like she could faint anytime soon and she was beyond uncomfortable.

I was surprised she got enough strength inside her to nod in agreement to my words. Seeing that it was probably the only thing she could manage, I continued speaking up my mind.

"I am aware how hardheaded our fathers are but I'll think of a way to break this arrangement."

A small smile appeared on Hinata's face and she appeared to have calmed down a little. As I took a sip of water, I saw Hinata sighing slightly in relief.

Not knowing what else to say, I began staring aimlessly around me. I watched a waiter pouring some wine into a customer's glass while another was chatting idly with a pair of couple. My eyes then caught sight of a woman wearing a light pink dress, which was very similar to the one Sakura had.

She loved it a lot and would smile very brightly whenever she wore it. It was a present from my mother and like what my mother said, Sakura looked beautiful in it.

"You like Sakura, don't you?"

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Hinata's sudden and highly unexpected question. I stared at her for a few moments, wondering if I had been much too obvious or something.

Hinata must have noticed my questioning glance and surprisingly, was speaking without stuttering like usual.

"The way you look at her is always loving and full of care. You're always looking out for her too. I can see that you love her a lot."

I didn't reply and took another sip of water instead. I was reminded of what happened the day before and felt guilty all over again. Sakura's fake smile was like a dagger stabbing straight into my heart. I wasn't sure if I would be strong enough to see that for the second time.

"I believe she likes you too."

I diverted my eyes back to Hinata, who surprised me with her words again. I noticed a slight blush appearing on Hinata's face as I continued staring at her. It made her slightly nervous but she spoke nevertheless.

"Sakura never told me anything but I could see just how much she likes you. I'm not sure if you noticed, but Sakura often unconsciously follows you with her eyes. I can see that she truly cares about you."

I was thinking whether I should start hoping that Sakura actually did return my feelings. I wasn't an expert when it was about stuffs like these so I wasn't surprised if I didn't notice it at all.

But what if things weren't like that and it was just my own wishful thinking?

"You'll never know what will happen unless you tell her your feelings for her."

Hinata perfectly guessed what was bothering me and said the exact words I needed to hear. And for the very first time, I smiled a little and thanked her.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

I just had dinner with Gaara, who had to leave earlier because of some urgent matters. He offered to drive me home first but I insisted on going home on my own. He seemed to be in a hurry and I also wanted to take a stroll around the city.

I had a lot of things going around in my mind and a night walk seemed to be a great idea to clear up my thoughts. Before dinner, I had time to call Ino and tell her about the kiss.

As usual, she shouted in my ear and scolded me for being an idiot.

" _Just confess already, stupid forehead!"_

Her words were still ringing clearly in my mind, along with what Gaara said that afternoon. The more I thought about it, the stronger my feelings for Sasuke became. I suddenly felt like hugging him tightly and feeling his warmth against my skin. I just wanted to meet him and show him the feelings I had for him.

I was about to give Sasuke a call when I caught sight of the person himself. I thought luck was on my side because the person I wanted to meet appeared right in front of me.

But all hopes were shattered when I saw that he wasn't alone.

Coming out of the restaurant with him was no other than Hinata, who was absolutely gorgeous in her lacy beige dress. She looked just like the princess she actually was.

I quickly hid behind a nearby wall and watched Sasuke opening the passenger's door of his car for Hinata. The more I witnessed the whole scenario, the more pain I felt in my heart. Tears fell from my eyes uncontrollably and I bit my lower lip to stop my pathetic sobbing.

It was simply painful to realize that while I finally start hoping for a possible happy ending, the one I loved was with the person who deserved him more than I did.

* * *

Author's Note: Please leave a review on your way out! The more reviews I received, the more I am encouraged to write. I started to become really busy so forgive me for the late updates. Follows and favorites are highly appreciated as well! Thank you for reading and have a nice day.


	8. Fears and Confessions

Author's Note: So many positive reviews, so much support and so many awesome readers. Thanks a whole lot for making this writer happier than she already is! And really happy with the growing number of followers and favorites! I hope all of you will continue reading this fanfic until the end even though I might take some time to update. Once again, thank you, everyone!

Chapter 8: Fears and Confessions

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

I cried so much to the point that I felt numb and empty inside.

When I saw Sasuke and Hinata together, my heart was in so much pain that I thought I wouldn't be able to take it. As the night went on, my tears had dried up and even my eyes grew tired from all the pain.

As I drifted off to sleep, my mind was filled with images of Sasuke and Hinata living their much too ideal life. It was like I couldn't stop myself from tormenting my own broken heart with thoughts of the man I loved wholeheartedly with a woman who wasn't me.

Perhaps I wanted to push myself to my limits so I could give Sasuke up once and for all.

Work went by like normal and I forced myself to smile more than the day before. I appeared happy in the outside, as if nothing was wrong at all. Nobody knew that I was almost completely destroyed in the inside.

At least, that was what I thought.

In the evening before I head back to the apartment, Tsunade asked me to visit her in her office. As I walked, I tried to think of the possible things she might wish to tell me but failed to find anything I had done wrong.

With a much confused self, I knocked the door to her office and entered when I was told.

Tsunade smiled as she asked me to take a seat on the chair in front of her desk, which had piles of unfinished paperwork on it. Unlike how serious she usually was during work, she was relaxed and much less intimidating as she spoke.

"I asked you to come here today because I have an offer for you."

Still not understanding what Tsunade meant, I stared at her as I patiently waited for her to continue.

"Even though I had only known you for a few days, I am very amazed by your high potential. I am wondering if you're interested in working with me as my apprentice even after the end of this internship."

I ungracefully dropped my jaw when I heard Tsunade's words. For someone as talented as her to compliment me and even wanted me to continue learning from her made me truly speechless.

Tsunade laughed at my reaction and I quickly regained my composure to thank her properly. We shared a few moments of laughter and I blushed slightly in embarrassment.

Before I stepped out of the door, Tsunade called out to me and said something I didn't expect she would say.

"You're a gifted and kind-hearted girl, Sakura. You deserve to be happy."

There was something behind her gentle tone that showed me that she knew I had been faking smiles all day long. Her words brought feelings back to my dead heart and I swore I could have burst into tears.

However, instead of that, I smiled sincerely for the first time all day and thanked her once again.

"Thank you, Shishou."

From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Tsunade smiling once again at her newly made nickname.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

I was too naïve to think that things were settled as long as I made myself clear to Hinata.

The next day, I walked passed my father's study room when I heard him arguing with Itachi. To say I was surprised was definitely an understatement. Itachi had always been the more obedient son and for as long as I could remember, he had never talked back to our parents.

Knowing better than to go in between their argument, I decided to stay outside and listen to what had infuriated both of them.

"Like I said, your plan won't work, father."

"You're in no position to tell me what to do, Itachi."

"I have the rights to interfere because this concern's my brother's future."

I became even more curious when I was mentioned. I took a step closer to the door but not close enough to alert my father and Itachi of my presence.

"I had told you countless times. Our company is not doing well and we need Hyuuga Corporation to rise up again."

Things began to make sense upon hearing my father's words. I finally understood why he was so eager to get me and Hinata together. I should have known that something had happened lately.

"I have found another way to help the company. There is no need to pull Sasuke into this." Itachi sounded agitated, which was definitely unlike his usual self.

"And just how confident are you about your plan, Itachi?"

I wasn't sure how I should feel about everything. I was confused whether or not I should be angry at my father and Itachi for not telling me the whole truth.

I knew perfectly well that Itachi had the tendency to shoulder all the responsibilities on his own and wouldn't allow me to share the burden with him.

Well, I was going to show him that I no longer need to be under his protection all the time. After all, I didn't want him to suffer all on his own.

I stayed out of sight when I heard Itachi approaching the door. I waited until he disappeared to the direction of his room before I stepped out from hiding.

After heaving a sigh, I walked towards Itachi's room, determined to find out everything that was going on.

I had always hated how Itachi could read my mind as if he was reading a book. But that time, it became a blessing in disguise because it made everything easier for the both of us. From the look on my face, Itachi knew I had overheard his conversation with father.

He closed the door once I had stepped inside his room and I was ready to hear what my older brother had to say.

"How bad are things at the company right now?"

I wasted no time and went straight to the point. Itachi smiled as he sighed, knowing too well that I wasn't the type to beat about the bush.

"To make things simple, we met some pretty bad financial problems." Itachi sat down on his desk with arms crossed in front of him. Contrary to the seriousness of his answer, his smile never left his face. "I am confident my plan will work so you don't have to worry."

"What is this plan of yours?" I had no plans of leaving until Itachi allowed me to help him out. As much as he enjoyed doing things on his own, I wasn't going to let that happen all the time.

"To start of, the Hyuuga Corporation isn't the only powerhouse that can save our company from the trouble we are in right now." Itachi stared at the distance as he spoke, all traces of amusement gone and was replaced with pure seriousness.

"You're saying that you have found another company that can help us?" Even though I wasn't very involved with business and all that, I knew very well about the Hyuuga Corporation's standing in the country. I was sort of surprised there was another company which could measure up to the Hyuuga Corporation.

Itachi nodded before answering, "It's a corporation called Sunagakure. Their headquarters are located far from here so we never had the chance to work with them. But for the past few years, their corporation has risen sharply and is now one of the top corporations in Japan."

"They have agreed to help us?"

"I have contacted one of their executive members and they said they are very interested with the proposal I came up with. I am meeting up with them tomorrow." Itachi sounded confident and seemed glad with how things had turned out so far. I had a good feeling about it as well and if it really turned out like how we wanted, we could all forget about the ridiculous engagement plans.

"Can I go with you?" Even though I was asking a question, I made it clear that I wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"You already know the answer to that." Itachi flicked my forehead and chuckled at the way I winced in pain. It was just like how things always were back when I was a kid.

And to be honest, I didn't want that to ever change.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

"I'm fine, Ino. Stop yelling, will you?"

Ino had been spamming me with calls ever since I reached the apartment. I didn't answer at first because I wasn't exactly in the mood to talk. And if it was with Ino, Sasuke would definitely be brought up.

He was that one person I didn't wish to talk about.

But I became irritated after what seemed to be the tenth time Ino called and I finally picked up. The first thing Ino did was yelling at me for worrying her and I began to regret not turning off my phone instead.

I apologized when I could sense that Ino was genuinely worried and as usual, I ended up telling her what happened. There was a mixture of shock and confusion in Ino's voice, which was perfectly understandable.

My loud blonde best friend just kept on referring Sasuke and Hinata as 'the world's most impossible couple'.

"You're getting upset over nothing, Sakura. Those two getting together is as impossible as me dating Shino."

"Shino is a nice person, Ino."

"I know. But can you imagine me calling him 'honey'?"

I shuddered at the thought and decided to drop that topic. Ino went back to saying that I should ask Sasuke about it if it had affected me a lot.

"I have no rights to question him."

"You're killing me, Sakura. You're so hardheaded that I could break concrete with that giant forehead of yours."

I rolled my eyes at Ino's words and didn't bother voicing out a respond. I told Ino I had to hang up when I heard a knock on the door.

"I'll call you again next time."

I placed my phone on the table of the living room before checking who it could be at 7 PM at night. I looked through the door's peep hole and much to my surprise and dismay; it was no other than Sasuke.

I hesitated at first, knowing that I wasn't completely ready to face him. I wasn't sure how I should act, what I should say and whether or not I should smile as if nothing happened.

But there was no point in running away so I opened the door when another knock was heard.

There he was, the person who had been on my mind for the longest of time, standing in front of me with his unreadable expression which I was way too familiar with. The two of us stood still, not a word was spoken as we stared into each other's eyes.

My heart ached when I realized the person in front of me was not mine and might never be in the future. I looked away, no longer able to stand the wave of pain from yesterday returning to haunt me again.

"What brings you here?" I unconsciously sounded annoyed and I knew very well that Sasuke had noticed it. Perhaps I was angry because he kept on giving me hope that there might be a future for the two of us, where in fact there was absolutely none.

And maybe I was mad at myself for still loving him so much after I was slapped hard by reality.

"I wanted to see you."

There he went again, saying such words in that low yet gentle voice of his. I bit my lower lip as I tried not to show the strong feelings consuming my heart. I couldn't bring myself to look at Sasuke and had my eyes fixated on the ground instead.

When I wasn't saying anything, Sasuke spoke again and somehow sounded unsure.

"I'm really sorry for what I did two days ago, Sakura. I actually wanted to visit you yesterday but I had something to attend to."

At the mention of how _busy_ he was yesterday, my eyes started to sting again and my heart was clenched much too painfully.

"I told you I'm fine. And whatever you were doing yesterday was none of my business." After muttering that under my breath, I quickly turned away and wanted to close the door to separate us, not wanting to let Sasuke see the state I was in.

I couldn't see Sasuke's face but I knew my words were like daggers to his heart. Before I could reach for the doorknob, Sasuke grabbed onto my wrist tightly with no plans of letting me go.

Before I could protest, Sasuke pulled me into the apartment and closed the door behind us. He then placed his hands onto the wall, trapping me against the door. His dark eyes reflected annoyance and a hint of pain as well. I tried to look away but Sasuke moved my chin to make me face him again.

"What's wrong with you?" His words came out like a whisper, sending a shiver down my body. I really didn't know what to say and could only stand still under Sasuke's penetrating gaze. I didn't want to appear ridiculous by saying that I was upset because I saw him with Hinata.

After all, I had no rights to be jealous.

"Sakura." The way Sasuke breathed out my name made me jump a little and I felt small underneath his broad shoulders. I couldn't help but admire his defined jaws and collarbone. I hated how I was still so mesmerized by him even at the worst possible timings.

"Tell me what's wrong." Sasuke asked me the same question again, with more intimidation in his tone. My breath was taken away when he moved his face closer to me and I knew my face was heating up at the sudden closeness.

"Nothing is wrong." I sounded as convincing as someone who said the sun was blue. I almost chocked on my own words and I couldn't even answer while looking at Sasuke in the eyes.

And Sasuke knew me too well to believe my pathetic lie.

"You know it's pointless to try and lie to me, Sakura."

Not knowing what to say or what to do, I pushed Sasuke away and got off from the door. I moved passed him and had my back facing him as I spoke.

"Just go, Sasuke. It's not appropriate to get so close to another woman when you already have someone else."

My throat felt tight as I said those words and I could no longer control the tears from blurring my vision. My cheeks felt cold as tears fell from my eyes and it took all the strength I had in me to contain my sobs.

I was taken by surprise when Sasuke suddenly embraced me from behind, holding me tightly against his toned chest. My feelings became even more messed up as I felt Sasuke's warmth enveloping me, making me felt safe and loved.

I really didn't know whether I could really love him or not anymore.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sakura. But believe me, the only woman I want is you and nobody else."

Sasuke's words made me tear up even more and my heartbeat went crazy over his voice I had grown to love so much. Sasuke rested his head on my shoulder and his grip around me became even tighter. I could sense his possessiveness towards me but it only made me even more conflicted.

"This is not going to work." I spoke in between sobs as I tried to escape from Sasuke's hug. But it made him hold onto me even closer towards him, not giving me any chance to go.

"I'm going to make this work. I need you." Sasuke sounded so sincere that for a moment, it felt like I didn't deserve to be showered with such genuine feelings.

I became speechless in the middle of an utterly confusing situation and I shut my eyes, letting tears fall from my tired eyes.

"I love you, Sakura."

At that moment, I knew I could never ignore my love for Sasuke.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

I didn't want her to leave me.

My heart ached whenever I felt Sakura's tear fall onto my arms. I still didn't really understand what made her so upset and I had a feeling it wasn't because I kissed her two days ago. But seeing her so broken, I just wanted to comfort her and stopped asking about it for the time being.

There was silence between us after I confessed my feelings for Sakura and the only thing I could hear was her soft sobs. I had never seen Sakura so fragile and it was painful to see her that way. I rested my head on top of Sakura's head, closed my eyes and took in Sakura's scent I had grown familiar with.

"I love you too, Sasuke."

Sakura's voice was so soft I thought I was imagining it. I turned her around and looked straight into her eyes, wanting to make sure I heard right.

I could still see hesitation and fear in Sakura's green orbs but I knew it wasn't because she was unsure of her feelings for me. I was aware of her worries and I understood why she was scared to express her love.

The path ahead of us wasn't going to be easy but the most important thing was that the love we felt for each other was real.

I caressed Sakura's cheek as I pulled her into a kiss on the lips. It was simple but nevertheless very loving and both of us could feel the strong emotions surging between us.

No matter what would happen in the future, I wasn't going to let her go.

* * *

Author's Note: Please leave a review, everyone! Follows and favorites will be highly appreciated as well. Thank you for reading and looking forward to see you in the next chapter!


	9. Sweetness and Excitement

Author's Note: First of all, I am so sorry! I know I took a bloody long time to update this fanfic! Things have been crazy at school and the amount of work I need to do just piles up uncontrollably. But here I am and I definitely hope my dear readers are still sticking around!

And regarding _itachi13080_ 's question on how is Sakura going to be Tsunade's apprentice while still working for Sasuke's family, stay tuned for more information regarding that in this chapter! Thanks for the reviews and opinions, by the way!

Chapter 9: Sweetness and Excitement

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

" _I love you and that is all that matters."_

No words could explain how much I wished I could say that to Sasuke. But things would never be so simple and my life was as messed up as a ship in the middle of a storm.

At least I knew I wasn't alone.

That faithful night when Sasuke and I finally decided not to run away from our true feelings, I was enveloped in his warm and loving embrace. Hours felt like minutes, minutes felt like seconds and I just hoped time would freeze at that very moment.

But life was not a fairytale and I wasn't a princess.

Although I felt like Cinderella for a moment when the clock struck at 12 AM and Sasuke had to go. But if I put things that way, Sasuke was supposed to be 'Cinderella'.

I brushed that thought aside when an image of Sasuke in Cinderella's iconic blue dress appeared in my mind.

"What are you laughing at?" Sasuke noticed that I was giggling and I was very sure he wouldn't like it if he knew what was exactly in my mind.

"Nothing much." My answer earned a raised eyebrow from Sasuke, who chose to let the matter go. I unconsciously held onto one of Sasuke's hand as he walked towards the door.

Sasuke turned around and smiled at the child-like frown on my face. He ruffled my hair, messing it up and earning an annoyed groan from me. But all negativity left my when he pulled me into one of his hugs which I had grown to love a whole lot.

"I'll come over to visit you as soon as I have time." Sasuke spoke as I rested my head on his chest. It felt so comfortable that I wished we had more time in our hands to stay together. But I knew I shouldn't be selfish and make Sasuke stay any longer.

He mentioned about having to do something tomorrow but he didn't go into details. And after knowing Sasuke for so long, I know he didn't want to tell me more than he did.

But when the time was right, I knew Sasuke would not keep me in the dark about it.

I continued holding onto Sasuke's hand even though I knew I shouldn't be doing so. Sasuke smirked and pinched me softly on the cheek.

"I never knew you are a clingy person, Sakura."

Sensing the teasing tone in Sasuke's voice, I let go of his hand and crossed my arms in front of my chest. I could feel my cheeks burning from embarrassment and I looked away, refusing to make any more eye contact with Sasuke.

The heat on my face went out of control when Sasuke kissed me on the cheek. Not only was it unexpected, I loved how soft and gentle his kiss felt. It effortlessly made me crave for more.

My own thoughts were driving me crazy and Sasuke's much too charming smile wasn't making things any easier for me.

"I'll see you soon." Sasuke said as he turned around and turned the door knob.

"Bye." My voice was soft and I wasn't sure if Sasuke heard me. I had a strong feeling that something big was going to happen but I had no idea at all.

As I watched Sasuke's back disappearing from my sight, I just hoped everything would be alright.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

That night, I wanted to hold Sakura in my arms and just be with her for the entire night.

But I knew what I had to do. Despite my strong urge to spend time with Sakura, I needed to attend the meeting with Itachi on the next day. After all, I couldn't bring myself to allow my older brother to fight a battle which was mine in the first place.

The next day arrived soon enough and after a torturously quiet lunch, Itachi and I left the house to meet up with the executive member of Sunagakure. Our father was obviously still very upset over the fact that Itachi talked back to him. It never happened before and I guessed it was a mixture of anger and surprise in his case.

And from the look on our mother's face, it was obvious she knew what happened. Needless to say, she was very worried and was at a loss as to what to do. Itachi, not surprisingly, remained as calm as usual.

We arrived at the meeting place few minutes earlier than planned. It was a classy European style café, which was a perfect place to enjoy an afternoon tea. There was silence between my brother and I as we both stared at the steam coming from the freshly brewed tea the waiter served us.

"It seems like you have really pissed off father this time round." Silence was normal between my brother and me but some conversation once in a while was preferred.

Itachi smiled a little before taking a sip from his cup of tea. His calm self didn't waver at all as he spoke.

"I'm not surprised father is still angry at me. To be honest, it's quite a surprise he has yet to kick me out of the house."

I wasn't very sure if Itachi was being serious or he was trying to crack a joke. Our father might be known as a stern and strict person, but I knew he cared for his family. I highly doubt he would actually kick Itachi out over a single argument.

Our conversation died down when Itachi spot the person we had been waiting for. I turned around and was surprised at who I saw.

It was none other than Gaara.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed that my brother was enjoying the surprised look on my face. Judging from his expressions, he must have known that Gaara was the one who offered Sakura the internship opportunity and I had met him previously. I wondered why my brother didn't mention that the person we were meeting up with was someone I knew.

"I assumed you know who Gaara is, Sasuke. I didn't tell you because it was meant as a surprise." My brother spoke as he stood up and shook Gaara's hand in a business-like manner. "Thank you for agreeing to meet up, Gaara. It's my pleasure."

I stood up as well, not bothering to question why my brother thought a 'surprise' was a good idea. It wasn't like I cared that much but I just couldn't wrap my mind around it.

I shook Gaara's hand as well and nodded as a form of greeting. The three of us sat down afterwards and went straight to business. With the likes of my brother and Gaara, I doubt there would be much small talk anyway.

I had read through the proposal Itachi prepared last night, which was about an estate development. To be honest, my business knowledge was insufficient compared to Itachi's but I understood the general idea at least. And seeing Gaara becoming an executive member of a company at such a young age lit up a fire in me to work hard towards improving.

After my brother and I presented the proposal in details, the three of us discussed several points that had to be addressed. Gaara definitely knew what he was talking about and I could see that Itachi was very impressed.

The discussion was surprisingly very interesting and it didn't felt like two hours had passed.

"This is a very well-prepared proposal indeed, Itachi. Once the points we discussed earlier are edited, I believe the plan is ready to be commenced." Gaara smiled as he stood up from his seat, shaking my brother's hand once again.

"Thank you for your time and support, Gaara. I'll contact you once the final proposal is ready and I will invite you to our company to sign the contract." I could see that Itachi was relieved his hard work had paid off.

Gaara turned towards me and shook my hand as well, "I'm looking forward to more collaboration with you, Sasuke."

I nodded in agreement and once Gaara had left the café, Itachi patted me on the shoulder. I turned around and saw him sighing in relief.

"I told you my plan will work." I could sense Itachi's pride in his tone and I couldn't help but smirk. With everything going exactly like how he planned them to be, he had all rights to be arrogant about it.

"I guess we should inform father about this once we get back home. How do you think he will react to this?" My questioned made Itachi think for a moment, before he smiled a little and started walking towards the café's entrance. Itachi gave an answer to my question once we were inside the car.

"Father is a proud man and he hates to be proven wrong. He will definitely be proud though when he finds out I manage to clinch a deal with a company which is as powerful as the Hyuuga Corporation."

The smugness I sensed from my brother showed that he wasn't afraid of our father's wrath at all. I assumed he was way too proud to be worried about that.

"He'll definitely be proud of this achievement of yours." Complimenting my brother wasn't exactly a habit of mine but I just felt like he deserved it after all he had done. Especially when I knew that a part of the reason Itachi worked so hard for this proposal was for my sake.

"And I believe even without this deal, father is still very proud to have me as his son."

"Your over confidence is rather disturbing." I expressed my honest feelings towards my brother's arrogance, which had sky-rocketed rapidly.

"The same could be said to you, little brother."

I couldn't find any reason to disagree with Itachi's statement and simply smirked at how true it was.

I guessed the two of us had some things in common, after all.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

It was Friday afternoon, marking the end of my third last day of my internship. I met up with Tsunade an hour ago to discuss about my future plans as her apprentice.

Knowing that it was impossible for me to work at the hospital everyday due to the distance of the hospital from the Uchiha household, it was decided that I would only go to the hospital during Saturdays and Sundays.

However, I still had a problem regarding my accommodation. Travelling from the Uchiha household to the hospital would eat up too much of my time. I was absent-mindedly walking towards the lobby of the hospital when someone's voice snapped me out of my daydream.

"A penny for your thoughts, Sakura?"

I jumped a little in surprise and turned around to see Gaara standing behind me. He gave me an apologetic look but I spotted amusement in his eyes.

"You look like you were so deep in your own thoughts that you're in another world or something." Gaara commented with not many expressions, which told me he probably wasn't attempting to tell a joke. It was either that or that was Gaara's unique way of being funny.

I simply laughed it off before telling him what was in my mind, "It's nothing much. I was just wondering where I should stay during the weekends when I'm working here in the hospital. It is possible to travel back and forth from where I live but it's rather time consuming."

"That is what has been bothering you?" Gaara spoke as if my concern was so trivial it didn't even have the right to be referred to as an issue. I crooked my head to the side and looked at Gaara questioningly.

"You can stay at the apartment you're in now during the weekends. Unless you don't like the place then I might need to help you find another one."

Gaara's nonchalant response to my problem made my jaw drop ungracefully. I wasn't quite sure whether I should be feeling grateful or guilty for all the trouble I had caused him.

"Are you being bloody serious?" I was secretly hoping my words didn't seem rude to Gaara but I just had to be extra I heard the right thing.

"You had the exact same response the first time I offered this internship opportunity to you." Gaara smiled a little and even caught a very slight chuckle as well. "And yes, I'm serious."

I blinked several times as I stared right into the eyes of my 'lifesaver'. I quickly grabbed his hand and shook it like my life depended on it.

"Thank you so much, Gaara!"

One thing for sure, it seemed like it was Gaara's first time to see someone putting so much energy into relaying her gratefulness. Another smile appeared on his face as he said something that literally made me jump in thankfulness, "You can thank me by working for me once you got your medical degree."

It took a lot of self-control to contain my shriek upon hearing Gaara's words. I bottled my over-excitement into myself and managed to settle for a wide grin instead.

"Considered that done!"

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

The situation back at home was rough on the day Itachi and I met up with Gaara. I swore I saw fire burning in our father's eyes when we told him about the deal we had with Sunagakure.

Let's just say it felt like Itachi and I took a trip to hell and fortunately made it back.

Our father was furious that I wasn't supportive of his so called flawless arrangement with the Hyuuga and Itachi's plan was fueling the raging fire. Judging from the lashing Itachi and I received from our father, we were honestly surprised we weren't thrown out of the house or something.

Later on that night, I was in Itachi's room discussing the project we were working on with Gaara when our mother paid us a rather unexpected visit. She said she came to check on us and even told us something rather interesting.

According to our mother, behind the anger our father had shown us, he was actually proud of what we achieved. But for someone as prideful and stubborn like our father, it was highly unlikely for him to tell us his true feelings himself.

Unfortunately, our mother said father still believes a connection through marriage with the Hyuuga would do us nothing but good. Too bad for father though because that would never happen.

After all, there was already someone special whom I had no intention of replacing with anyone else.

On the evening of Friday, I drove to Sakura's apartment for a surprise visit. I called her the night before to tell her about the meeting I had with Gaara and also regarding my father's much expected outrage.

She did expressed how proud she was of me and Itachi but most of her focus went to laughing at me for admitting I was slightly scared when my father was flaring.

I didn't tell her anything about paying her a visit the next day though since I thought a surprise might be nice once in a while. It definitely wasn't something that went hand in hand with my personality but I knew it was something Sakura would like.

It took two knocks for the door to be opened and an over-excited pink haired girl to jump into my arms. I felt myself smiling all too naturally as I wrapped my arms around Sakura and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

"What are you doing here? You didn't tell me anything about visiting me today!" Sakura was smiling widely as she spoke and I brought my hand up to brush away strands of hair from her face.

"I guess this is what people normally refer to as a surprise." My answer was meant to reduce the cheesiness which could lead to my death and Sakura must have realized my intention because she was laughing way too hard.

I pinched her cheek a little in an attempt to stop her from laughing but it was pointless. At the end, I had to pull her into the apartment before her mad laughter would disturb her neighbors.

"Have you had dinner?" I asked Sakura who was closing the door behind us.

"I haven't. I just got back from the hospital and only had time to take a shower."

I pull Sakura into a hug again and rested my forehead on hers. My lips gently traced her cheek and jaw before they kissed her on her own lips.

My actions made Sakura giggle and it was indeed music to my ears.

"Let's go out for dinner then." I spoke as I inched away from her face to look at her in her emerald orbs.

"Sure!" Sakura's previous over-excited self came back and she quickly released herself from my grip to go change her clothes.

As I watched Sakura disappear into her room, I began thinking of how blessed I am to have her with me. And mark my words; my father had no chance of getting me with some other girl other than Sakura.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

"I missed this place so much, Sasuke!"

I couldn't help but voice out my excitement over Sasuke's choice of restaurant. It was a place Itachi often brought us to when we were still kids. We just eventually stopped coming to the restaurant when Itachi became busier over time and wasn't able to bring take us there anymore.

"I thought so." Sasuke spoke as he took a sip from his glass of water. We had finished our meal and were waiting for our desserts. "I passed by this restaurant earlier and figured you would like it here."

I giggled as I swung my legs in excitement, feeling like a young child all over again. It reminded of the time Itachi had to stop eight years old Sasuke and me from a 'dessert fight'.

* * *

 _Flashback_

"I think the two of you should stop devouring those chocolate cakes. I feel sick just looking at you guys."

Itachi sat opposite of Sasuke and I who were too preoccupied in eating the chocolate cakes in front of us. Neither of us bothered to even respond to Itachi's words.

Itachi sighed as he took some tissue and wiped off cream from the corner of Sasuke's mouth. I laughed at Sasuke for the mess he made, which obviously pissed him off. The annoyed little kid sitting beside me took me by surprise by scooping up some cream with his finger and wiped it onto my face.

Both surprised and angered by what Sasuke did, I did the same and smeared even more cream on Sasuke's face. It didn't take long before both Sasuke and I were almost completely covered in chocolate cream.

"For goodness sake, what is the matter with both of you?" Itachi sighed even louder as he grabbed onto both our arms to stop us from making an even bigger mess.

"He started it!" I yelled as I continued trying to mess up Sasuke's face even more. Itachi was far bigger and way stronger than I was and I wasn't able to do anything.

"It's your fault for being annoying." Sasuke glared at me as he tried to escape from his older brother's grip as well.

"That's enough. If either of you make another mess, I won't take any of you out for chocolate cakes anymore."

And with a threat as simple as that, it brought silence to our table.

 _End of Flashback_

* * *

Thinking back to that day made me laugh louder than I intended. The laughter became slightly out of control when the waitress came to our table with the chocolate cake we ordered. The waitress looked at me weirdly and left quickly as if I was some sort of freak.

Not that I blamed her for thinking that way though.

"What's so funny?" Sasuke asked, giving me a weird look as well.

"I suddenly remembered the time when Itachi had to drag us out of this restaurant while our faces were messed up by chocolate cream." It didn't take long for my words to make Sasuke join in the laughing spree. Needless to say, he wasn't even a quarter as crazy as I was.

"If something like that were to happen right now, I swore Itachi might disown this brother of his." Sasuke commented as he cut a small piece of the cake in front of him and offered it to me. "This time, we're leaving this place differently."

I could feel a blush surfacing as I stared at the fork in front of me. Not only was it the first time a guy fed me in public, it was a very unlikely thing for someone like Sasuke to do.

Despite the tiny bit of embarrassment I felt, I happily took the bite I was offered. Without any exaggeration, it was the sweetest bite I had ever had.

Sasuke drove me back home and walked me all the way to the doorsteps of the apartment. He kissed me on the lips the second time that day and I thought it meant goodbye. But Sasuke's next words proved otherwise.

"Can I stay with you tonight, Sakura?"

* * *

Author's Note: What will happen next?! (drum rolls) Please look forward to the next chapter, dear readers! I am currently on holidays so I promise I will be updating more often. As usual, please review, follow, favorite and continue reading this fanfic, everyone! Thank you!


	10. Warmth of the Night

Author's Note: No words can express how happy I am to know that there are so many loyal readers out there. Thank you so much for everyone's constant support! I appreciate it a whole lot. I wouldn't reach chapter 10 without everyone's encouragement. I hope you'll enjoy this story until the end!

Chapter 10: Warmth of the Night

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous.

I could hear my heartbeat as I sat on the couch of the living room with Sasuke beside me. We were watching the television normally and there was simply nothing for me to be so worked up about.

But my stupid heart was racing crazily like a complete idiot.

Bearing in mind the fact that Sasuke and I lived under the same roof for the longest of time, it was honestly sort of weird for me to feel nervous about this sudden sleepover. But then again, being completely alone with Sasuke in an apartment was sort of different from living our lives back in the Uchiha household.

A huge part of me was happy Sasuke chose to stay though. My heart just needed some time to calm down and not ended up making a fool out of itself.

"Is something wrong?" Sasuke's voice snapped me out of my thoughts in a rather shocking way, almost to the point of making me yelp. Fortunately, I managed to save myself from that embarrassment. However, it didn't cross out the fact that Sasuke noticed that I was acting weird.

"It's nothing." I managed a smile which only served to make myself seemed even more suspicious. Sasuke, being the genius he was, appeared to have figured out what was wrong with me. And judging from the handsome smirk on his face, he wasn't planning to let matters go without making fun of me.

"Is someone feeling nervous?" Sasuke's face inched closer to mine and I felt like I had stopped breathing when the smell of Sasuke's expensive cologne became even more apparent. A shiver ran through my heated body when he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and traced my face gently with his finger.

"N-No." And of course, my stuttering voice was far from convincing. It only made Sasuke wanting to tease me more and his slightest actions made me blush furiously.

"Your face is so red, Sakura." The way he called my name sent a ticklish feeling in my stomach and I couldn't stop another shiver from taking over me. Sasuke's lips got even closer to my ears and I could feel his breath on my skin. "What's in your mind?"

"Nothing." My mind was in a mess and my heart was beating even more furiously than ever. But somewhere inside of me, I could sense a strong anticipation which only served to confuse me even further. To be honest, I wasn't sure what I was expecting but I knew I was looking forward to see what the night had in stored for us.

I was too embarrassed and nervous to say anything more though.

The next thing that I heard caught me completely off guard.

It was Sasuke's laughter. Sasuke Uchiha, the most stoic person I had ever met, actually laughed.

I sat still as I stared with pure shock at the sight in front of me. It wasn't like one of those crazy laughter I usually had but it was something I had never seen from Sasuke.

Seeing that I had been staring too much, Sasuke poked my forehead to snap me out of my shock, all the while having the most charming smile on his face.

"You looked like you had just seen a ghost." Sasuke teased further as he continued rubbing my cheek. Shock was soon replaced by amusement and I couldn't help but laughed at the situation. Sasuke must have thought it was ridiculous of me to be nervous around him.

"I have never seen you laugh like that so it was natural for me to be surprised!" I defended myself for the stupid face I made earlier and nuzzled onto Sasuke's chest to hide my blushing face from him. He wrapped an arm around me, bringing me even closer to him than I already was.

I laid comfortably on Sasuke as I listened to his heartbeat. I wasn't sure if it was just me but it somehow felt like his heart was racing as well.

Knowing very well he would be mad if I teased him about it, I kept it to myself and tried to suppress my laughter.

"There's no need for you to be so nervous, Sakura. I won't do anything you do not wish to do." Sasuke's voice was reassuring and gentle, making me hold onto him even tighter. Sasuke's considerate side made me love him even more.

"Thank you." My voice was so soft that I was worried Sasuke wouldn't be able to hear me. But judging from the kiss he gave me on the forehead, I assumed my gratitude reached him.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

If I managed to get through the night without losing my self-control, I would be immensely proud of myself.

A few minutes after I decided to stay over at Sakura's place, I knew it was a bad idea. It wasn't because she was a bad company because she was total opposite of that.

Just that, I wasn't sure if I could keep my promise of not doing anything she wouldn't wish to do. After all, her very being wasn't exactly helping in that sense.

I was glad that Sakura managed to calm down and was back to her usual comfortable self in front of me though. The problem was the fact that she was getting so comfortable that my mind wandered to places it shouldn't.

Sakura's head was on my chest as she watched the television and her arms were wrapped around me. Her legs were lifted from the floor and were placed on the couch. And from where I was sitting, I had the perfect view of her creamy long legs.

And yes, it wasn't assisting in my quest to keep my urges under control.

Every time she moved, shivers would be on the verge of spreading throughout my body. And every time she innocently rubbed my leg with hers, I could feel the heat surfacing from the spot where we made contact. And every time she spoke, I would stare at her lips and wanted nothing more than to put mine on hers.

" _Staying over is definitely a horrible idea."_ I unconsciously let go of a sigh I had been holding onto and unfortunately, it didn't go unnoticed by Sakura.

"Is something wrong?" Sakura placed a hand on my cheek as she looked into my eyes. Not knowing what to say, I simply shook my head and looked away from Sakura's round green eyes. There was something about the sparkle in those green orbs that seemed to be pulling me into her.

And yes, again, it wasn't helping me out of the situation I was in.

Sakura definitely noticed that I wasn't telling the truth because she was shifting herself to get a closer look at my face. Her action made her body pressed onto mine and her sweet fragrance was clouding my already messed up mind.

From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a small smirk forming on Sakura's pretty face and it gave me a bad feeling. Something told me Sakura was going to have her little revenge for the teasing I gave her earlier on.

And I could already imagine being pushed dangerously close to my limit.

"For someone who's usually expressionless, I can read you pretty well right now, Sasuke." I knew I was defeated when Sakura spoke in that enticing sweet voice of hers. And I knew I was done for when I felt her on top of me lap.

"And for someone who was freaking out just a while ago, you have gained quite a lot of courage, Sakura." I decided to give up the cool act and play along with Sakura's little game. As I stared into her eyes, she wrapped her arms around my neck and rested her forehead on mine.

"You're too cute when you're actually showing some nervous expressions. I can't help but to tease you about it." Sakura's giggles filled the room beautifully as I wrapped my arms around her waist, leaving no space between the two of us.

"I didn't know you have the guts to be such a tease." I placed butterfly kisses from her jaws, cheeks and landed a final one at the corner of her lips. When I felt her whimper slightly under me, it left me wanting more.

With no prior warning, Sakura pulled me into a kiss. Her lips were so soft and they seemed to fit onto mine perfectly. The surprise was forgotten soon enough and I was totally pulled into the kiss.

Rubbing Sakura's sides earned me a gasp from her, which gave me the opportunity to deepen the kiss. I used my tongue to explore the insides of Sakura's mouth, making hear moan through the kiss.

When we broke the kiss for air, I started kissing her slender neck and sucked gently on her sensitive spots. The reactions I received from Sakura were beginning to drive me insane.

"S-Sasuke." Sakura's husky voice was pushing me towards the edge of the cliff and I knew I was losing strength. I knew it was impossible for me to turn back.

I was completely drawn towards Sakura and I didn't want to escape.

I pulled away even though I knew I didn't want to. I looked straight into Sakura's eyes for answers, wanting to know what she actually wanted.

When I saw the resolved look on her face and the sweet smile she had, I knew there was nothing for me to fear anymore.

Because Sakura had decided to make that night a moment neither of us were going to ever forget.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

Waking up in the embrace of the man you loved definitely felt better than I imagined it to be.

Thinking back to the night before, I remembered thinking that I wasn't ready to take the next step in our relationship. But when I saw that love had replaced the coldness in Sasuke's eyes, I knew I wasn't going to regret this.

And so far, I definitely had no regrets.

The morning sunlight shone right towards the bed, making it difficult for me to keep my eyes closed. There was an indescribable kind of happiness inside me when Sasuke's sleeping face was the first thing I laid my eyes on when I just woke up.

His dark hair appeared to be glowing under the sunlight and his face looked absolutely at peace. His arm wrapped my body, giving me a feeling of security that effortlessly warmed my heart. I unconsciously brought my hand to Sasuke's face, as if checking if everything was for real and not some dream that was too good to be true.

My feathery touches had unexpectedly woken Sasuke up. I didn't bother trying not to laugh as I watched Sasuke struggling to open his eyes. And when he finally did so, he gave me one of his rare smiles which would always melt my heart.

"Good morning." Sasuke's sleepy voice was something I would want to hear more in the future. I giggled when he shifted on the bed to place a kiss on my forehead.

"Good morning to you too." I returned the kiss on his cheek before getting out of bed. As much as I loved staying comfortable with Sasuke, I needed to prepare and get to work.

"What are your plans for today, Sasuke?" I asked as I take my clothes from the wardrobe. I looked back towards Sasuke as I waited for a response and caught sight of him sitting up as he ran his fingers through his hair. The sight of his chiseled chest reminded me of how naked I was as well.

I blushed deeply as I tried to cover myself with the towel in my hand without making Sasuke noticed my embarrassment. If he knew what was in my mind, he would definitely tease me about it.

"I'm going home first before heading over to the company with Itachi." Sasuke answered as he walked towards me, appearing as if he wasn't bothered by his nakedness at all. He embraced me from behind and sleepily rested his head on my shoulder. The feeling of his muscled body behind me was enticing the warmth from last night.

I knew that staying a second longer with Sasuke would mean increasing the probability of being late. So, as much as I hated it, I gave him a quick peck on the cheek before dashing towards the bathroom.

I heard Sasuke grunting in annoyance as I walked away and it brought a smile onto my face.

At that very moment, I wished that there would come a day when all my mornings would just be like that day.

But I knew that Sasuke and I had to go through a tough battle before that day could be realized. We weren't afraid though, because neither of us was planning to give up without a fight.

* * *

Author's Note: I apologize if some of you were expecting me to write a certain scene (insert a wink). I wanted to keep this fanfic T-rated so had to cut out that scene. Anyways, please leave a review on your way out! I would love to read your opinions and thoughts on this story. Merry Christmas and thank you for reading, everyone!


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